Influence of As_2O_3 on the reactive oxygen species in melanoma B_(16) cells

Objective:To study the influence of As2O3 on the proliferation and the reactive oxygen species(ROS) levels in melanoma B16 cells.Methods:B16 cells were treated with 30 μmol/L As2O3 alone or together with 500 μmol/L N-acetylcysteine(NAC).The effect of As2O3 on B16 cells was determined by MTT assay,and the intracellular ROS level was measured by flow cytometry(FCM).Results:As2O3 could obviously inhibit the proliferation of B16 cells and NAC might partially antagonise the apoptosis effect induced by As2O3.ROS level in B16 cells started to rise after being incubated with 30 μmol/L As2O3 for 1 h(P0.01),and reached the peak point of at 4 h(P0.01),and the ROS expression levels decreased slightly at 24 h.The difference was all significant compared with the control group(P0.01).The increasing of ROS might be partially blocked by NAC(P0.05 to P0.01).Conclusions:B16 cells apoptosis induced by As2O3 is related to the increase of ROS level.As2O3 induces B16 cells apoptosis by accumulation of intracellular ROS level,which may be one of the antitumor processes of As2O3.