Internucleosomal DNA cleavage in HeLa cells exposed to cisplatin

Exposure of HeLa cells to Cisplatin resulted in cell death characteristic of a suicide process known as apoptosis, as stated by morphologic features, extensive and specific DNA fragmentation and in situ end labeling of DNA breaks. The apoptotic cell death was induced timely in a dose-dependent manner, without any primary necrosis at the concentrations used. In contrast to other reports, the death in this cell line was accompanied by low-molecular weight DNA fragmentation. These results and their relevance to the apoptotic process are discussed.