title: Sodium selenite (Na2SeO3) induces apoptosis through the mitochondrial pathway in CNE-2 nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells.
abstract: This study investigated the effect of sodium selenite (Na2SeO3) on proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis as well as the underlying mechanism in CNE-2 nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells. The CNE-2 cell line was treated with different concentrations of Na2SeO3, and the effects of Na2SeO3 on cell viability and proliferation were evaluated using Cell Counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Cellular apoptosis and cell cycle were evaluated by flow cytometry following Annexin V‑FITC/PI double staining and PI single staining respectively; nuclei morphology stained with DAPI and Hoechst 333258 was observed under a fluorescence microscope, while DNA fragmentation was detected by agarose gel electrophoresis. The mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were analyzed using fluorescent staining assays. Expression of Bcl-XL, Bax, Bak, and caspase-3 activation were examined by western blotting. The results showed that Na2SeO3 inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis of CNE-2 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Na2SeO3 at low concentrations induced cell cycle arrest at S phase, while high concentrations of Na2SeO3 induced cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase. Furthermore, Na2SeO3 increased ROS level and decreased MMP, upregulated caspase-3 activity and the expression of Bak and Bax but simultaneously downregulated Bcl-XL. In conclusion, our studies demonstrated that Na2SeO3 had significant anti-proliferative and apoptosis-inducing effects via arresting cell cycle and regulating mitochondria-mediated intrinsic caspase pathway in CNE-2 NPC cells, suggesting that Na2SeO3 might have therapeutic potentials in the treatment of NPC.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhongyi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Caihong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiangyong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qunzhou
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, The Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yuefei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jingjing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Keyuan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D002277:Carcinoma; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D053938:DNA Fragmentation / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial / Q000187:drug effects; D000077274:Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D018038:Sodium Selenite / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D018038:Sodium Selenite