Experimental study of apoptosis induced by paclitaxel in human melanoma A375 cell

Objective: To investigate the growth-inhibitory and apoptosis-inducing effect of paclitaxel on human melanoma A375 cell and its mechanism in vitro.Methods: The proliferation of A375 cells was determined by using MTT method.The morphological changes of the cells were observed under light and electron microscopes.Cell cycle progression and apoptosis ratio were determined by using flow cytometry.Results: Paclitaxel inhibited the growth of A375 cells by inducing apoptosis in a both time-dependent and dose-dependent manner(P0.01).The typical morphological changes such as apoptotic body formation were found at 24 hours after A375 cells were exposed to paclitaxel of 0.01 to 1 μmol/L.Paclitaxel of 0.001 μmol/L was the lowest dose to induce A375 cell apoptosis but did not change cell cycle progression.Paclitaxel of 0.01 μmol/L mainly acted on A375 cells of G_(0)/G_(1) phases.Paclitaxel of 0.1 to 1 μmol/L induced the cell cycle arrest in G_(2)/M phases.Conclusion: Paclitaxel could inhibit the proliferation and induce the apoptosis of A375 cell in vitro.Paclitaxel of different concentrations may induce the apoptosis by different mechanisms.