Inhibition of proliferation and induction of programmed death of Hep-2 cells by FTY720

Objective To investigate the inhibition of proliferation and induction of programmed death of Hep-2 cells cultured in vitro by FTY720.Methods Hep-2 cells were treated with FTY720 at various concentrations(800,1 600 and 3 200 ng/ml) for 48 h,then observed for proliferation activity by MTT assay,for morphology by Switzerland-Giemsa staining,and for cell cycle and apoptosis by flow cytometry.Results FTY720 showed dose-dependent inhibitory effect on proliferation of Hep-2 cells.The inhibiting rate of cell proliferation by FTY720 at a concentration of 3 200 ng/ml was(60.900 ± 0.071)%(P 0.05).Programmed death was observed in the cells treated with FTY720 which arrested the cells at G2 phase.The apoptosis rate of cells treated with 1 600 ng/ml FTY720 increased significantly(P 0.05).Conclusion The FTY720 at a certain concentration inhibited the proliferation,regulated the cell cycle and induced the programmed death of Hep-2 cells cultured in vitro.