[Effect of As2O3 on demethylation of SHP-1 gene in human lymphoma cell line T2]

Inducing gene demethylation may be a mechanism of arsenic trioxide (As(2)O(3)) in treating hematologic cancers. This study was to investigate the effect of As(2)O(3) on demethylation of SH2-containing phosphatase-1 (SHP-1) in human lymphoma cell line T2 and on the proliferation of T2 cells.T2 cells were treated with As(2)O(3) and 5-aza-2'-deoxyoytidine (5-AC) alone or in combination. The methylation of SHP-1 in T2 cells was detected by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP). The mRNA and protein expression of SHP-1 were determined by fluorescence quantitative-polymerase chain reaction (FQ-PCR) and Western blot. The expression of p-c-kit was detected by Western blot. Cell proliferation was detected by MTT assay. Cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry.As(2)O(3) led to progressive demethylation and re-expression of SHP-1 in T2 cells, as well as down-regulation of phosphorylated c-kit. As(2)O(3) inhibited the proliferation and promoted the apoptosis of T2 cells, and its effects were enhanced along with the increase of concentration and treatment time (p0.05). The proliferation inhibition rates were significantly lower in As(2)O(3) (2.5 micromol/L) group than in combination (2.5 micromol/L As(2)O(3) plus 2 micromol/L 5-AC) group (9.8% vs. 11.0%on Day 1, 20.3% vs. 36.7% on Day 2, 47.5% vs. 61.0% on Day 3, p0.05). The apoptosis rates were significantly higher in combination group than in As(2)O(3) group (17.3% vs. 6.1% on Day 1, 37.9% vs. 26.5% on Day 2, 67.9% vs. 50.9% on Day 3, p0.05).As(2)O(3) could cause demethylation and re-expression of SHP-1 in T2 cells, and may inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis of T2 cells via suppressing activation of c-kit receptor and its signal transduction.