Effect of interferon α-2b combined with 5-fluorouracil on the biological behavior of hepatoma cells

Objective To investigate the vitro inhibitory effect and mechanism of IFNα-2b combined with 5-fluorouracil on the hepatoma cell line HepG2.Methods Human liver cancer cells were recovered and cultured,and then IFNα-2b or 5FU alone and in different concentrations of IFNα-2b combined with 5-FU were used for intervention.Inhibition ratios of growth of liver cancer cells which were cultured in vitro were detected by MTT.The effect of apoptosis of IFNα-2b and 5FU on HepG2 cells was detected by HOECHST staining.The effect of the mutant p53 and c-myc proteins expression of IFNα-2b and 5-FU on cells were observed by immunocytochemistry and image analysis.Results IFNα-2b or 5-FU inhibited the growth of the human liver cancer cell line HepG2 in a time dependent manner.Compared with IFNα-2b or 5-FU alone,IFNα-2b combined with 5-FU significantly inhibited the growth of HepG2 cells in a dose-and-time dependent manner.The combination of IFNα-2b and 5-FU significantly increased the apoptosis ratio in a dose-dependent manner,and the apoptosis rates were significantly higher than that of control group.The combination of IFNα-2b and 5-FU significantly down-regulated the expression of mutant p53 and c-myc proteins compared with IFNα-2b or 5-FU alone.Conclusions IFNα-2b combined with 5-FU can significantly inhibit the growth of the human liver cancer cell line HepG2 in a dose-andtime dependent manner,induce apoptosis of hepatoma cells in a dose dependent manner and down-regulate expression of mutant p53 and c-myc proteins with a synergetic effect.These may be part of the anti-cancer mechanism of IFNα-2b combined with 5-FU.