Effects of rapamycin on cell growth and apoptosis of pancreatic carcinoma SW1990 cells

Objective: To investigate the effects of rapamycin on cell growth and apoptosis of pancreatic carcinoma SW1990 cells in vitro, and to elucidate its possible mechanism. Methods: MTT assay was used to detect the growth inhibitory rate of SW1990 cells treated with 5, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 nmol/L rapamycin for 24, 48 and 72 h, respectively. Cell apoptosis and cell cycle were detected by flow cytometry(FCM). The expressions of bcl-2, bcl-xL, bax and survivin were measured by Western blotting. Results: The inhibitory rate and apoptosis rate of SW1990 cells treated with rapamycin were higher than those in the negative control group (P＜0.05), and with concentration-dependent and time-dependent effects. Compared with the control group, more cells in the rapamycin treatment group were arrested at G0 and G1 phases，while fewer cells were arrested at S, G2 and M phases (P＜0.05) in a concentration-dependent manner. The expression of bax was increased, while the expressions of bcl-2, bcl-xL, survivin, bcl-xL/bax and bcl-2/bax were decreased (P＜0.05) in SW1990 cells treated with 50 nmol/L rapamycin. Conclusion: Rapamycin can significantly inhibit the cell growth of SW1990 cells and also induce apoptosis. These effects are related with the expressions of bcl-2, bcl-xL, bax and survivin. DOI:10.3781/j.issn.1000-7431.2011.01.010