Apoptosis Study of Lung Cancer Cell Line A549 Treated by rsTRAIL

OBJECTIVE To study the apoptosis-induced effects of the recombinant TRAIL on lung cancer cell line A549,and investigate the combined anti-tumor effect of the recombinant TRAIL and CDDP.METHODS The morphology of cultured cell treated with or without the recombinant TRAIL were observed and compared microscopically.The anti-proliferative effects of the recombinant TRAIL on cancer cell line A549 was measured by MTT spectrophotometry method.The apoptosis rate of cell line A549 induced by different content of the recombinant TRAIL were determined by AO/EB dual fluorescence stain followed by image analysis.To explore the methods to increase the sensitivity to TRAIL,cancer cell line A549 was treated with a lower dosage recombinant TRAIL and sub-toxicity level CDDP,and the combination of the anti-tumorigenesis effect determined by MTT spectrophotometry assay and flow cytometry were compared with the control groups treated with single TRAIL or CDDP.RESULTS The recombinant TRAIL had significant anti-proliferative effects on cancer cell line A549 treated with the TRAIL 100 μg·L-1 for 24 h,the anti-proliferative rate of the cell line was 41.6%.Cells killed by the recombinant TRAIL showed typical apoptosis morphology changes.The apoptosis rate of the cells was also related to the level of the TRAIL.Treated with 50 μg·L-1 for 24 h,the apoptosis of A549 was obtained.The sub-toxicity level CDDP can significantly increased the sensitivity of A549.Treated with CDDP 3 mg·L-1 and TRAIL 50 μg·L-1,the apoptosis rate of A549 reached to 75.2%.CONCLUSION The Recombinant TRAIL can kill A549 cells by inducing cell apoptosis;CDDP can synergistically enhance the effect of the recombinant TRAIL on inducing apoptosis in A549 cells.The recombinant TRAIL is a promising anti-tumorgenesis drug,and the combination with CDDP may be an effective therapy strategy.