Anticancer effect of tetrandrine on primary cancer cells isolated from ascites and pleural fluids

作者：Liu Baorui; Wang Tingting; Qian Xiaoping; Liu Guangxia; Yu Lixia; Ding Yitao^*

来源：Cancer Letters, 2008, 268(1): 166-175.

DOI：10.1016/j.canlet.2008.03.059

• tetrandrine
• primary cancer cells
• ascites
• pleural fluids

Objective: The present study was designed to examine the effect of tetrandrine on primary cancer cells isolated from the ascites or pleural fluids of patients with metastatic cancers.
Methods: Primary cancer cells were isolated from the pleural fluids (n = 13) or ascites (n = 21) of patients. Compared with culture cell lines, the response of these cancer cells to tetrandrine and chemotherapeutic agents commonly used in clinical practice were determined by WST-8 assay. Tetrandrine-induced apoptosis in primary cancer cells was determined by Annexin V-FITC assay. Quantitative RT-PCR was used to examine the role of apoptotic associated genes in the anticancer effect of tetrandrine.
Results: The primary cancer cells isolated from effusions showed sensitivity to tetrandrine with IC(50) values of 38.23 +/- 25.77 mu M, similar to the IC(50) in established cell lines. Patients with gastric cancers were more sensitive to tetrandrine than patients with lung cancers (P = 0.04). Four cancer cells isolated from effusions were resistant to tetrandrine, which also had increased tolerance to docetaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil. We also observed a weak but significant correlation between sensitivity to tetrandrine and cellular expression of bcl-2 (P = 0.035, r = -0.364).
Conclusions: Using cancer cells isolated from the ascites or pleural fluids, this study shows the potential anticancer effect of tetrandrine against primary cancer cells.

• 出版日期2008-9-8
• 单位南京大学