The in vitro study of the effects of arsenic trioxide on the synoviocytes apoptosis of rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective To investigate arsenic trioxide (As2O3)-mediated apoptosis of synovlal cells in pa-tients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) through culturing the synoviocytes in vitro. Methods Primary synovial cells were cultured by means of two-enzymatic digestion and the third cells were adopted in this test. The cultured cells were defined by MTT and flow cytometry (FCM). Results Certain concentration of As2O3 could inhibit the viability of synoviocytes at 48 h by means of MTT, which was dose-dependent. Certain concentration of As2O3 could induce the apoptosis of synoviocytos pro rata at 48h by means of FCM ,which was dose-dependent within range of 10-80 μmol/L concentration. Conclusion Certain concentration of As2O3 following 48 h effect could induce the apoptosis of syno-viocytes of RA,which is dose-dependent. Key words: Arthritis;  Rheumatoid;  Synovial membrane;  Cells ;  Apoptosis