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Effects of all-trans retinoic acid on choriocarcinoma cells in vitro
S Yamada1, T Okamoto, T Nakanishi
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Japan.
Objectives:
To determine the activities of all-trans retinoic acid (RA) on choriocarcinoma cells in vitro.
Methods:
The antiproliferative effect of all-trans RA on 4 choriocarcinoma cell lines was measured by the MTT assay. The effect of all-trans RA combined with methotrexate or actinomycin-D was then examined. The effect of all-trans RA on hCG secretion was also studied. The gene expression of retinoic acid receptors (RARs) was examined by RT-PCR.
Results:
All-trans RA inhibited cell proliferation dose- and time-dependently; a 6-day exposure to 1 microM all-trans RA suppressed the cell growth by 67.8%-82.0% compared to the controls. An enhanced effect was observed in the combined administration of all-trans RA and methotrexate or actinomycin-D. The secretion of hCG increased 4-fold to 9-fold by the addition of 1 microM all-trans RA. RARs genes were expressed in all cell lines.
Conclusion:
The anticancer activity presented here appears to warrant further evaluation of all-trans RA as adjuvant therapy for choriocarcinoma.