Anti-Proliferation Effect of Arsenic Trioxide on Lung Cancer A549 Cells and its Mechanism

To investigate the anti-proliferation effect of arsenic trioxide on lung cancer A549cells and its mechanism.A549cells were cultured in different concentrations of arsenic trioxide medium in vitro.The inhibitory ratio of the cells were measured by MTT assay.Apoptosis was observed by flow cytome-try(FCM)and Hoechst33258fluorescence staining.The activity of telomerase was detected by TRAP-PCR-ELISA before and after apoptosis occurred.Arsenic trioxide could decrease the telomerase activity,cause apoptosis and inhibit the growth of A549cells significantly.The suppression was both in time-depen-dence and dose-dependence.Morphological changes including condensation of celluar chromatin and frag-mentation of nuclear were found in Hoechst33258fluorescence staining.[Conclusion]Arsenic trioxide can in-hibit the growth of A549cells and induce apoptosis.Telomerase activity reduced in A549cells may be one of the important mechamisms.