Effect of glutathione combined with cisplatin and oxaliplatin on the proliferation and apoptosis of lung carcinoma cell line

Abstract

Reduced glutathione (GSH) is generally administered for patients with cancer to reduce the side-effects of anti-cancer drugs. However, whether its protective effects interfere with anti-carcinogenicity is still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of exogenous GSH on effects of oxaliplatin (L-OHP) or cisplatin (CDDP) by observing the proliferation and apoptosis of lung carcinoma cell line A549. Cell proliferation was evaluated by sulforhodamine-B assay and morphological changes were observed by an inverted microscope. Cell cycle distribution and apoptosis rate were observed by flow cytometry (FCM). Results showed that GSH did not change the inhibiting effects of L-OHP and CDDP on A549 proliferation, and did not reduce the apoptosis induced by CDDP. The FCM analysis showed the GSH combined with the CDDP group had fewer cells in the S-phase and had an apoptotic peak, which was not significantly different from that of the CDDP alone group (p > 0.05). These results indicated that GSH does not reduce the effects of L-OHP and CDDP to inhibit A549 growth in vitro, and doesn’t affect the apoptosis induced by CDDP.