Cladribine Enhances Apoptotic Cell Death in Lung Carcinoma Cells Over-Expressing DNase γ

• Published in: Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin Vol. 34; no. 7; pp. 1001 - 1004
• Main Authors: Hayakawa, Akemi, Suzuki, Haruhiko, Kamei, Yuzuru, Tanuma, Sei-ichi, Magae, Junji
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan 2011
• Subjects: A549; Adenocarcinoma - enzymology; Adenocarcinoma - pathology; apoptosis; Apoptosis - drug effects; Cell Line, Tumor; cladribine; Cladribine - pharmacology; DNase γ; Endodeoxyribonucleases - metabolism; Flow Cytometry; gene therapy; Humans; lung cancer; Lung Neoplasms - enzymology; Lung Neoplasms - pathology
• ISSN: 0918-6158; 1347-5215
• DOI: 10.1248/bpb.34.1001

Worldwide, lung cancer is the most common form of cancer and often has a poor prognosis. Establishment of effective therapies for lung cancer is a major concern in clinical cancer research. We compared the cytotoxic effects of chemotherapeutic agents including cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil, vinorelbine and cladribine, on a human lung cancer cell line, A549, and its derivative transfected with the DNase γ gene. We observed selective cytotoxicity of cladribine on the DNase γ-expressing sub-cell line of A549. Cladribine induces selective apoptosis in DNase γ-expressing A549 cells, which depends on activation of caspases. These results suggest that a combination therapy that includes cladribine along with the introduction of DNase γ has potential as a new therapeutic strategy for lung cancer.