Anti-hepatoma activity of taxol in vitro

AIM: To investigate the in vitro anti-hepatoma activity of taxol against SMMC-7721 human hepatoma cells. METHODS: The hepatoma cell growth was measured by MTT-microculture tetrazolium assay. Cell-cycle kinetics and apoptosis were analyzed by flow cytometry and microscopic examination. RESULTS: Taxol inhibited the hepatoma cell growth in concentration- and time-dependent manners with IC50 Of 18.96 nmol.L-1. Marked cell accumulation in G(2)/M phase and multinucleated cells were also observed after treatment with taxol 10 nmol.L-1. In addition, taxol at 10 nmol.L-1 could induce the apoptosis of hepatoma cells. CONCLUSION: Taxol suppresses the growth of SMMC-7721 human hepatoma cells in vitro by causing cell-cycle arrest, aberrant mitosis, and apoptosis of the human hepatoma cells