Cytotoxicity effect of arsenic on HaCat cells and protective effect of N-acetylcysteine

Objective To study the cytotoxicity of sodium arsenite(Na AsO_2)on keratinocytes(HaCaT) and the protective effect of N-acetylcystein e(NAC).Methods The HaCaT cells were treated with sodium arsenite alone or pre-treated with NAC for 24 hours,followed by the addition of sodium arsenite.AlarmarBlue assay was used to detect the proliferation of the cells.Results The reduction rate of AlarmarBlue increased when the HaCaT cells were treated with 0.001?μmol/L-1?μmol/L o f NaAsO_2 alone(P0.05).When pre-treated with NAC for 24 hours,the reduc tion rate increased significantly in the 20?μmol/L group compared with the gro up treated with 20?μmol/L of NaAsO_2 alone(P0.05).Conclusion Low levels of NaAsO_2 stimulate the prolifera tion of HaCaT cells while high levels inhibit it.NAC can alleviate the cytotoxic ity of asenic,which indicate that the cellular GSH exert the important protectiv e effects on the cytotoxicity of arsenic.