title: [Comparison of antitumor efficacy between arsacetyl and arsenic trioxide in vitro].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Recently, it was reported that some organic arsenics was stronger than inorganic arsenics in inducing carcinoma cell apoptosis. This study was designed to compare arsacetyl (ASAC), a kind of organic arsenics, with As2O3 in the effect of inhibiting proliferation and inducing apoptosis in carcinoma cells.
  
  
  METHODS
  MTT (Methythiazolyl tetrazolium) assay and analysis of apoptosis were used to evaluate the effects of arsacetyl and As2O3 on the proliferation of SMMC-7721 and their mechanisms. Their toxicity to vessel endothelium cells (VECs) was also determined by using MTT method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both As2O3 and arsacetyl significantly inhibited the proliferation of SMMC-7721, the inhibitory effect was dose- and time-dependent and arsacetyl was stronger than As2O3 [e.g. inhibitory ratio: (14.2 +/- 1.5)%, treated with 0.1 mumol/L arsacetyl for 48 h; (27.1 +/- 3.0)%, treated with 0.1 mumol/L arsacetyl for 48 h]. 1 mumol/L As2O3 and 0.1 mumol/L arsacetyl almost had no toxicity to VEC, while they induced SMMC-7721 apoptosis indicated morphologically by "small apoptopic body" formation; DNA ladders appeared on agarose gel electrophoresis. The flow cytometry assay indicated that most of the cells were arrested in S + G2/M phase and the apoptotic peak appeared.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ability of arsacetyl inducing apoptosis was stronger than As2O3, and SMMC-7721 in the G0/G1 phase may be the target of drug action.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedcine Engineering, College of Automatization, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, P. R. China. Hfengling@263.net
authors.forename: Feng-ling
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Yuan-liang
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Chun-xiao
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Hui-nan
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis; D000077237:Arsenic Trioxide; D001152:Arsenicals / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000473:pathology; D053938:DNA Fragmentation / Q000187:drug effects; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000187:drug effects; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D016193:G1 Phase / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D020128:Inhibitory Concentration 50; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D010087:Oxides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016192:Resting Phase, Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D001152:Arsenicals; D010087:Oxides; C469857:arsacetyl; D000077237:Arsenic Trioxide