Effects of eicosapentaenoic acid combined with etoposide on proliferation and apoptosis of human lung cancer cell line A-549 / 中华临床营养杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the effects of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) combined with etoposide on the proliferation and apoptosis of human lung cancer cell lines A-549 in vitro.Methods The A-549 cells were cultured,respectively,with culture fluids containing 40 μg/ml EPA,10 μg/ml etoposide,40 μg/ml EPA + 10 μg/ml etoposide,20 μg/ml etoposide,or 40 μg/ml EPA + 20 μg/ml.The effects of EPA and/or etoposide on the proliferation of the cell line were detected by MTT assay.The morphological changes of the cells were observed using annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodine and acridine orange/ethidium bromide double staining under fluorescence microscope.The apoptosis and the changes of cell cycle were detected by flow cytometry.Results The inhibition rates of EPA plus etoposide groups on the proliferation of human lung cancer cells A-549 were significantly higher than those in other etoposide groups (all P ＜ 0.05).Cell staining showed that the amount of apoptotic cells in EPA plus etoposide groups was significantly larger than that in etoposide groups.The percentages of cells in S and G2/M phases of EPA plus etoposide groups were significantly higher than those of etoposide groups (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion EPA may enhance the effect of etoposide on inhibiting proliferation and promoting apoptosis for human lung cancer cells A-549.