Apoptosis induced by tamoxifen in K562 cells

Objective To investigate the impact of tamoxifen on proliferation and apoptosis in human leukemia cell lines K562 cells. Methods K562 cells were treated by tamoxifen of different concentrations for different treating time,cell viability (the numbers of living cells) and growth rates were counted by the trypan blue exclusion, and the changes of cell apoptosis were determined by means of cell morphology, DNA gel electrophoresis and flow cytometry. Results Tamoxifen inhibited the proliferation of K562 cells; tamoxifen induced apoptosis of K562 cells at the concentration ranging from 1 to 5 μmoL/L. Conclusion Tamoxifen can inhibit the proliferation of K562 cells and induce apoptosis.