[Influence of human mesenchymal stem cells on cell proliferation and chemo-sensitivity of K562 cells]

This study was aimed to compare K562 cell proliferation, chemo-sensitivity and alteration of MDR1 before and after adhesive culture with MSC, so as to evaluate the relationship between chemodrug-resistance of leukemia cells and hemopoietic microenvironment. K562 cell cultivated in suspension and adhesively cultivated with MSC were collected respectively and cell proliferation curves were drawn; the cell cycle was determined by flow cytometry; the effect of chemotherapy on cellular viability and apoptosis of K562 cell was investigated, the MDR1 gene expression was determined by RT-PCR. The results showed that K562 cells adhesively cultivated with MSC were inhibited and cells in G0/G1 increased (P < 0.05), cells in S phase decreased (P < 0.05) and those in G0/G1 increased (P < 0.01), compared with that cultivated in suspension. In process of daunomycin-inducing apoptosis, K562 cell apoptosis in the adhesive culture with MSC was inhibited (P < 0.05). MDR1 gene expression in K562 cells was not induced or altered by adhesive co-cultivation. It is concluded that by co-culture of cell-cell contact with MSC, growth suppression and induction of chemo-resistance of K562 cells take place. The mechanism, however, seems not relevant with MDR1.