ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of indomethacin on the proliferation and Wnt/β-catenin pathway in K562 cells.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The cell growth of K562 cells treated with different concentrations of indomethacin was assessed with MTT assay, and the colony-forming ability of the cells was evaluated by colony-forming assay. The mRNA expressions of BCR/ABL and β-catenin were detected by RT-PCR, and the protein expressions of pBCR/ABL, total BCR/ABL, β-catenin, pGSK-3β and c-myc were analyzed by Western blotting.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Indomethacin significantly suppressed the growth and colony-forming ability of K562 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Indomethacin treatment dose-dependently decreased the protein level of pBCR/ABL and total BCR/ABL without affecting bcr-abl mRNA expressions. Compared with the control groups, indomethacin-treated cells showed obviously decreased mRNA and protein expressions of β-catenin and decreased protein expressions of pGSK-3β and c-myc.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Indomethacin inhibits the proliferation of K562 cells by suppressing the activity of bcr-abl-Wnt/β-catenin pathway.</p>