Comparative study on the effects of arsenic trioxide and cisplatin on the ovarian carcinoma cell strain 3AO in vitro

Objective: To compare the proliferation inhibiting and apoptosis inducing effects of Arsenic trioxide (As 2O 3) and cDDP on 3AO cells . Methods: Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) and flow cytometry (FCM) were used to compare the effects of As 2O 3 and cDDP on 3AO cells' proliferation inhibiting rate, apoptosis percentage and phase distribution of cell cycles. After bejng treated with As 2O 3 , apoptotic phenotype of 3AO cells was observed by acridine dying. Results: Compared with cDDP , As 2O 3 inhibited the growth of 3AO cells and induced their apoptosis more effectively in dose and time dependent manners(P0.01); After treatment with As 2O 3, 3AO cells' S phase were arrested. Morphological observation indicated that As 2O 3 induced death of 3AO cells which were in characteristic by apoptotic phenotype. Conclusion: Compared with cDDP , As 2O 3 can effectively inhibit the proliferation of 3AO cells and induce their apoptosis and make their S phase arrested.