Effect of Paclitaxel-induced Apoptosis in Human Ovarian Cancer Cell Line SKOV-3 Pretreated with Dexamethasone

Objective:To investigate the effect of paclitaxel-induced apoptosis in human ovarian cancer cell when pretreated with dexamethasone.Methods:MTT assay was used to examine the effect of paclitaxel-inhibited cell proliferation when pretreated with dexamethasone.The cell apoptosis on morphology was detected by TUNEL assay.The percentage of apoptosis of human ovarian cancer cell line SKOV-3 induced by paclitaxel in the presence or absence of dexamethasone was measured by PI-staining and then analyzed by FCM.Results:Dexamethasone can protect differently the inhibition of SKOV-3 cell proliferation induced by paclitaxel.TUNEL assay showed that dexamethasone inhibited the SKOV-3 cell apoptosis induced by paclitaxel.The apoptosis percentage of human ovarian cancer cell line SKOV-3 induced by paclitaxel and pretreated with dexamethasone measured by PI-staining was (5.55±0.53)%.The apoptosis percentage treated only with paclitaxe was (13.90±1.62)%.The apoptosis percentage decreased significantly when pretreated with dexamethasone ( P0.01).The percentage of cell arrested by PTX in the G2/M phase was no significant difference in paclitaxel in the presence or absence of dexamethasone group (P0.05).Conclusion:Pretreatment with dexamethasone can protect the inhibion of SKOV-3 cell proliferation induced by paclitaxel.Dexamethasone can inhibit apoptosis of human ovarian cancer cell line SKOV-3 induced by paclitaxel without affecting the ability of paclitaxel to induce mitotic division arrest in the G2/M phase.