Gefitinib at different administration time in radiosensitizing lung adenocarcinoma cells in vitro / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the radiosensitizing effects of gefitinib at different administration time. Methods Gefitinib was administered to A549 lung cancer cells in three different ways (method 1, 24 h before irradiation ;method 2, upon irradiation and method 3, 24 h after irradiation). Cell-surviving rates were evaluated by the colony-forming assays. Cell apoptnsis and cell-cycle distributions were detected by the flow cytometry (FCM). Protein expression of p21, Cdc25c, Bcl-2, Bax, Rad51 and phosphorylated DNA - PKcs (phnspho - DNA - PK) were measured with the Western blot analysis. Results The sensitizing effect ratio (ratio of D_0 value) was 2.23, 1.51 and 1.30 with method 1, 2 and 3, respectively. A higher apoptosis rate and more G_2/M phase arrest were observed with method 1 when compare with method 2 or 3. With the similar tendency, the protein level of p21, Cdc25c, Bcl-2, Bax, RadSl and phospho-DNA-PK changed distinctly. Conclusions Radiosensitizing effects are obtained in all three methods, with gefitinib delivered before irradiation being the best.