Impact of Arsenic Trioxide on LS-174T Cell Growth in vitro and the Activity of Telomerase

Abstract

The therapeutic action of arsenic trioxide (As 2 O 3 ) on solid tumors has aroused widespread interest among scholars. To study the impact of As 2 0 3 on human colorectal carcinoma cells (LS-174T cell) and the activity of telomerase, the methods of PCR-ELISA, flow cytometry (FCM) and MTT assay in vitro were utilized. The results show that (1) with an increase in the concentration of As 2 O 3 , the ratio of living the cells to dead cells decreases significantly, and the IC 50 value is 5.23 μ/mL; (2) the cells of the experimental groups can endure a series of morphological changes similar to the features of apoptosis; (3) the apoptotic curves of FCM pictures appear after 24 h, and the cells show the apoptosis in a time-dependent manner; (4) As 2 O 3 , can inhibit the activity of telomerase of the cell extraction obviously in a concentration-dependent and time-dependent manner after 24 h. It can be concluded from the experiment results in vitro that As 2 O 3 can induce the apoptosis of LS-174T cells and inhibit the telomerase activity. Therefore, it has been proposed, for the first time, that these two factors (the apoptosis of LS-174T cells and the inhibition to the telomerase activity) are important causes of the LS-174T cell death caused by As 2 O 3 .