ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the expression and activity of TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) gene expressed from the hTERT promoter on colon cancer cell line HT-29.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>GFP/TRAIL gene expressed from the hTERT promoter was transfected into HT-29 with adenoviral vectors system, expression and apoptosis inducing ability of GFP/TRAIL protein were determined with fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) method.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The expression of GFP gene was 31.4 % and 67.0 % with either hTERT promoter or CMV promoter in DLD1 cells; GFP/TRAIL gene was able to inhibit cell growth (74.2%) and induce apoptosis (25.8%) of HT-29 cells. There was significant difference between Ad/hTERT-gTRAIL and the other two control groups (PBS and Ad/CMV-GFP, P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The GFP/TRAIL gene with hTERT promoter transfected by adenoviral vector was successfully expressed in HT-29 cell, which can both inhibit cell growth and induce apoptosis of colon cancer cell line HT-29.</p>