ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effect of arsenic trioxide (As2O3) and all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) on human cervical carcinoma HeLa cell line.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>HeLa cells were treated with As2O3 and ATRA. The cell proliferation was evaluated by MTT assay. The expressions of NDRG-1 protein and mRNA were determined by Western blot and RT-PCR analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>MTT assay showed that As2O3 and ATRA inhibited the growth of human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells in vitro in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Western blot and RT-PCR techniques showed that As2O3 and ATRA down-regulated the expressions of NDRG-1 protein and mRNA (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>As2O3 and ATRA can significantly inhibit the growth and proliferation of HeLa cells. The reason of these changes may be related with the down-regulation of expression of NDRG-1.</p>