The effect of all-trans retinoic acid on apoptosis of the human lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549

Objective:To study the effect of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) on generation and inducing apoptosis of human lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549 in vitro. Methods: The inhibitory rate of human lung adenocarcinoma cell lines A549 in vitro with or without ATRA was measured by MTT method.Apoptosis was observed under light microscope,transmission electron microscope (TEM),and was detected by flow cytometry (FCM). Results: MTT method showed all cells were inhibited on different concentration of ATRA treatment and the inhibitory degree correlated with the concentration of ATRA,however,the inhibitory effect on the cell generation was the best by concentration 10-5mol·L-1 of ATRA with the inhibitory rate being 60%,while high dose of the ATRA main lead to death of A549 cells.The A549 cell with the ATRA treatment reversed to normal phenotype from malignant phenotype,and the apoptotic body was observed under light microscope and TEM. Apoptotic rates were higher than control after ATRA treatment and the cell cycle was delayed with ratio of G1 phase increasing and ratio of S,G2 phase decreasing by FCM. Conclusions: ATRA inhibit the generation of A549 cells in vitro and induce the A549 cell apoptosis.