The effect of β-elemene combined with irradiation on DNA damage and repair in A549 cells / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To study if β-elemene can increase radiation-induced deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage and decrease the damage repair.Methods Exponentially growing human lung adenocarcinoma cells (A549) were exposed to 10 or 20 μg/ml β-elemene for 24 h before irradiation.The effect of β-elemene on the in vitro radiosensitivity of A549 cells was evaluated using clonogenic assay.DNA damage and repair were evaluated using comet assay.Results Exposure to β-elemene before irradiation increased the radiosensitivity of A549 cells.The SERD0 for 10 μg/ml and 20 μg/ml β-elemene was 1.55 and 1.64, respectively.The SERDq for 10 μg/ml and 20 μg/ml β-elemene was 1.43 and 1.75, respectively.Combined treatment, comparing to irradiation or β-elemene treatment alone, induced higher levels of DNA damage and slower rate of damage repair.A549 cells exposed to 20 μg/ml β-elemene followed by irradiation showed a higher levels of tail moment (TM) than those exposed to irradiation or β-elemene alone at 0 h,2 h,6 h and 24 h after irradiation.The TM of the three groups at 0 h,2 h,6 h and 24 h after irradiation was 7.16±2.61,0.95±0.65 and 1.81±1.23(F=231.24,P<0.01), 3.65±2.06,0.11±0.07 and 1.58±1.40(F=90.22,P<0.01), 2.09±0.83,0.1±0.05 and 0.45±0.25(F=238.44,P<0.01), 1.45±1.37,0.11±0.08 and 0.60±0.40(F=38.94,P<0.01), respectively. Conclusions β-elemene can enhance the radiosensitivity of A549 cells through the enhancement of DNA damage and the inhibition of DNA damage repair.