Different inhibition of hepatocarcinoma cell growth by As_2O_3 in SMMC-7721 and BEL-7402 cell lines / 中国病理生理杂志

ABSTRACT

AIM: To explore the different inhibitory effect of arsenic trioxide (As_2O_3) on hepatocarcinoma cell growth in SMMC-7721 and BEL-7402 cell lines and its mechanism. METHODS: The cell culture and trypan blue staining were used to study the inhibitory effect of arsenic trioxide on cell growth, and the glutathione (GSH) contents in hepatocarcinoma cells treated with arsenic trioxide were detected. RESULTS: Arsenic trioxide inhibited the growth of BEL-7402 cells in a time and dose-dependent manner. The inhibitory effect was significant at a lower dose of 0.50 ?mol/L for 24 h, however, to SMMC-7721 cells, a higher dose of 2.00 ?mol/L for 96 h was needed. The inhibitory rate of arsenic trioxide (0.25-2.00 ?mol/L) on BEL-7402 cell growth was higher than that on SMMC-7721 cells. The content of GSH in SMMC-7721 cells was much higher than that in BEL-7402 cells [(50.8?5.2) (?mol/g) protein and (18.7?1.4) ?mol/g protein, respectively]. CONCLUSION: There was a significant difference in inhibition of hepatocarcinoma cell growth by arsenic trioxide between BEL-7402 and SMMC-7721 cell lines, the cause of which may be due to the difference in GSH content in BEL-7402 and SMMC-7721 cells. [