ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effect of E1A gene on the radiosensitivity of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells and its possible mechanism. Methods The E1A gene was transfected into nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE-2R cells by adenovirus vector. The expression of E1A gene was detected by RT-PCR. Untransfected CNE-2R cells(PBS group)and CNE-2R cells transfected with empty vector Ad-β-gal(Ad-β-gal group)and E1A(Ad-E1A group)were given 0 Gy,2 Gy,4 Gy,6 Gy,8 Gy 6 MV X-ray irradiation. The changes in radiosensitivity of CNE-2R cells were determined by colony-forming assay. Flow cytometry was used to analyze cell apoptosis in each group. The expression of NF-κB, CK2α, Bcl-2, and cleaved caspase-3 was measured by Western blot. Results RT-PCR confirmed that the E1A gene was transfected into CNE-2R cells and stably expressed. The Ad-E1A group had a significantly lower plating efficiency than the PBS group and the Ad-β-gal group(P<0.05). The Ad-E1A group had significantly lower cell survival rate at 2 Gy irradiation than the PBS group and the Ad-β-gal group(0.217 vs. 0.602, P<0.05;0.217 vs. 0.585, P<0.05). The Ad-E1A group had a significantly higher α/β value than the PBS group and the Ad-β-gal group(24.680 vs. 5.268, P<0.05;24.680 vs. 5.132, P<0.05). Flow cytometry results showed that irradiation alone could promote the apoptosis of CNE-2R cells,when combined with E1A gene,the apoptosis rate was significantly increased(P<0.05). Western blot results showed that E1A gene down-regulated the expression of NF-κB/p65,CK2α,and Bcl-2 and up-regulated the expression of cleaved caspase-3. Conclusions E1A gene can enhance the radiosensitivity of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells by inhibiting the expression of CK2 to block the NF-κB signaling pathway and promoting cell apoptosis.