Inhibitory Effect of Berbamine on Proliferation of Retinoblastoma HXO-RB_(44) Cells

Objective: To investigate the effect of berbamine (BBM) on the proliferation and cell cycle of retinoblastoma HXO-RB44 cells. Methods: HXO-RB44 cells were cultured in vitro. The inhibitory effect of BBM on the cell proliferation was assayed by MTT method after being interfered for 24 h, 48 h and 72 h by 0, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 mg/L, respectively. The cell cycles were analyzed by flow cytometry (FCM) after being interfered 24 h by 0, 4, 8 and 16 mg/L BBM, respectively. Results: The cell proliferation was significantly inhibited by BBM in a dose-dependent manner (P 0.05). Values of IC50 were 25.26, 10.94 and 6.25 mg/L for 24 h, 48 h and 72 h after treatment , respectively. The result of FCM analysis showed that BBM significantly inhibited the cell cycle, and increased the number of cells in G2/M phase compared with those of control group (P 0.01). Conclusion: Berbamine can inhibit the proliferation of HXO-RB44 cells and induce cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase, which suggests that BBM may be an effective anti- retinoblastoma drug.