To investigate apoptosis in mouse leukemia cell (WEHI-3) induced by Econazoleand its mechanism. Methods: Apoptosis induced by Econazole was examined by flow cytometry. Freecalcium ([Ca^(2+])i) was determined by Fura-2 fluorescein load technique. The protein was isolatedfrom endoplasmic reticulum of WEHI-3 cells, and then the expression of caspase-12 and caspase-7 wasdetected by Western blot. Results: WEHI-3 cells exhibited typical change of apoptosis when they weretreated by Econazole. [Ca^(2+)]i was significantly higher in Econazole-treated group than incontrol group. The expression of caspase-12 and caspase-7 was increased with the increase ofEconazole concentration. Conclusion: Caspase-12 may play a key role in WEHI-3 apoptosis induced byEconazole.
Objective： To explore the relationship between survivin and drug resistance, and the changes of the survivin expression in HL-60 cells treated with three kinds of chemotherapeutic drugs. Methods： HL- 60 cells were treated with appropriate concentration of daunomycin （DNR）, mitoxantrone （MIT） or arsenic trioxide （As2O3）. The expression of survivin mRNA and protein on the first or third day was detected by RT-PCR and Western blot respectively. Results： The expression of survivin mRNA was decreased on the first day by 10% in DNR-treated group, 40% in MIT-treated group （P〈0.01） and 25% in As2O3-treated group （P〈0.01） respectively. On the third day, the expression of survivin mRNA in DNR- and MIT-treated group was up-regulated to 120% （P〈0.05） and 165% （P〈0.01） respectively as compared with that on the first day, but down-regulated to 68% in As2O3-treated group （P〈0.01）. As compared with control group, the expression of survivin protein in DNR- or MIT-treated group was increased by 14% or 11% on the third day respectively, but it was decreased by 18% in As2O3-treated group. Conclusion： In DNR- and MIT-treated group, the expression of surivin was decreased at first and then increased obviously, which may be one of the causes for resistance to chemotherapy against leukemia. Different from other two drugs, As2O3 may play an important role in restoring chemotherapy sensitivity.
