DAPT Enhances the Apoptosis of Human Tongue Carcinoma Cells

Aim To investigate the effect of DAPT （γ-secretase inhibitor） on the growth of human tongue carcinoma cells and to determine the molecular mechanism to enable the potential application of DAPT to the treatment of tongue carcinoma. Methodology Human tongue carcinoma Tca8113 cells were cultured with DAPT. Cell growth was determined using Indigotic Reduction method. The cell cycle and apoptosis were analyzed by flow cytometry. Real-time PCR and Immuno-Fluorescence （IF） were employed to determine the intracellular expression levels. Results DAPT inhibited the growth of human tongue carcinoma Tca8113 cells by inducing G0-G1 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, The mRNA levels of Hairy/Enhancer of Split-1 （Hes-1）, a target of Notch activation, were reduced by DAPT in a dose-dependent manner. Coincident with this observation, DAPT induced a dose-dependent promotion of constitutive Caspase-3 in Tca8113 cells. Conclusion DAPT may have a therapeutic value for human tongue carcinoma. Moreover, the effects of DAPT in tumor inhibition may arise partly via the modulation of Notch- 1 and Caspase-3.

Effects of ATRA, Acitretin and Tazarotene on Growth and Apoptosis of Tca8113 Cells

Summary：To investigate the effects of ATRA, acitretin and tazarotene on the growth and apoptosis of human tongue squamous cell carcinoma cell line Tca8113. The effect of retinoids on growth of Tca8113 cells in vitro was examined by MTT assay and Trypan blue exclusion assay. Cell cycle analysis, early apoptosis analysis with double staining with Annexin V-FITC and PI, and active caspase-3 analysis with the staining of FITC-conjugated monoclonal rabbit anli-active caspase-3 antibody were made by flow cytometer. Streptavidin-biotin complex （SABC） immunocytochemical assays were employed for the detections of Bax/Bcl-2 proteins expressions. Our results showed that the retinoids inhibited growth of Tca8113 cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner with maximal inhibition 24 h after treatment of 10 5 mol/L. 10^-5 mol/L retinoids altered cell cycle distribution of Tca8113 cells, revealing an increase in G0/G1-phase population, a decrease in S-phase population and the inhibition of G1/S switching. 10^-5 mol/L retinoids significantly induced apoptosis of Tca8113 cells （all P〈0.05）, elevated the cells population with detectable active caspase-3 （P〈 0.05 for all）, increased the number of cells forming Bax and decreased the number of cells forming Bcl-2 significantly （all P〈0.05）. Acitretin played a most prominent role among the retinoids. It is concluded that the inhibition of cell cycle progress of Tca8113 cells by ATRA, acitretin and tazarotene is one of the possible mechanisms for proliferation arrest of TcaS113 cells elicited by the retinoids. The retinoids mediate apoptosis in TcaS113 cells that may be caspase-dependent through mitochondria pathway. High concentration retinoids inhibit growth of Tca8113 cells in vitro by interfering with proliferation and inducing apoptosis of cells. Acitretin may be an alternative medicine for the prevention and treatment of tongue squamous cell carcinoma.