Effect of thalidomide and arsenic trioxide on human myelodysplastic syndrome cell line MUTZ-1

Objective:To study the effect of thalidomide and arsenic trioxide on the proliferation and apoptosis in human myelodysplastic syndrome cell line MUTZ-1 and explore its possible mechanism.Method:MUTZ-1 cells were cultured with different concentration of thalidomide alone,arsenic trioxide alone,and thalidomide plus arsenic trioxide for 48 h.Cell proliferation was analyzed by CCK-8 test.Cell apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry.VEGF expression was analyzed by ELISA and semi-quantitative RT-PCR.Result:Thalidomide alone had no significant growth inhibition in MUTZ-1 cells(P 0.05).Arsenic trioxide alone obviously inhibited cell proliferation(P0.05).Thalidomide plus arsenic trioxide group had more inhibition effect,which revealed that two drugs had synergism effect in inhibiting the MUTZ-1 cells.The apoptosis rate of MUTZ-1 cell had no significant increase while the thalidomide concentration increased alone(r=0.313,P0.05).Apoptosis rate increased while Arsenic trioxide increased alone in a dose-dependent manner(r=0.627,P0.05),and also increased in the combined group(P0.001).Thalidomide alone in the concentration of 10,25 mg/L had no impaction on VEGF secretion(P 0.05),but inhibited the VEGF expression at the concentration of 50,100,200 mg/L(P0.05),and the inhibition effect was most obviously at the 50 mg/L concentration.Arsenic trioxide alone inhibited VEGF expression in a dose dependent manner(P0.05),but thalidomide 200 mg/L plus arsenic trioxide 10 μmol/L group had a slightly declined VEGF expression compared with thalidomide 100 mg/L plus arsenic trioxide 5 μmol/L group.Conclusion:Thalidomide had no significant proliferation inhibition effect on MUTZ-1 cells.Arsenic trioxide could inhibit MUTZ-1 cells alone.And the combined group had more significantly effect than that of arsenic trioxide or thalidomide alone.The low concentration thalidomide had no effect on VEGF expression.But high concentration had an obvious inhibition effect on VEGF expression.Arsenic trioxide alone can inhibit the expression of VEGF to a certain concentration extent,in a dose-dependent manner.The combined group had more obviously inhibition effect than thalidomide or arsenic trioxide alone.Apoptosis rate of MUTZ-1 cell had no significant increase when thalidomide concentration increased alone.But the apoptosis rate increased as arsenic trioxide alone increased in a dose-dependent manner,and the combined group also had this effect.