The aim of the present study was to determine whether acetazolamide (Ace) treatment enhances the chemosensitivity of Hep-2 laryngeal cells to cisplatin (Cis). At the logarithmic growth phase, Hep-2 cells were treated with Ace, Cis or both, and cell viability was detected using an MTT assay. The degree of apoptosis was detected using flow cytometry. Expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins, including BCL2 apoptosis regulator (bcl-2), BCL2 associated X (bax) and caspase-3, and of proliferation-related proteins, including proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and tumor protein p53 (P53), were detected using western blotting. mRNA expression levels of aquaporin-1 (AQP1) in each group were detected using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Compared with the drugs used alone, treatment with both Ace and Cis displayed synergistic effects on the growth inhibition and apoptosis induction in Hep-2 cells. The Ace/Cis combination decreased the expression of PCNA but increased the expression of p53. In addition, the combination treatment decreased the ratio of bcl-2/bax and increased the expression of caspase-3, as well as decreased the expression of AQP1. These results demonstrated that the combined use of Ace and Cis enhanced the chemosensitivity of laryngeal carcinoma cells.
Keywords: Hep-2; acetazolamide; apoptosis; aquaporin-1; cisplatin; laryngeal cancer; proliferation.