Purpose: To investigate the effect of genistein (GEN) on the apoptosis of lung adenocarcinoma cells and the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax, so as to screen effective antitumor drugs for the clinical treatment of lung adenocarcinoma.
Methods: Lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells were cultured in vitro and treated with different concentrations of GEN. The untreated cells were set as control group. MTT assay and Annexin V/PI double staining were used to analyze cell proliferation and apoptosis after GEN treatment. RT-qPCR and Western blot were used to detect the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax at mRNA and protein levels, respectively.
Results: Cell p roliferation a ssay s howed t hat GEN c ould inhibit the proliferation of lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549 in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. Cell apoptosis assay showed that, compared with the control group, the apoptotic rate of A549 cells was significantly increased after GEN treatment. RT-qPCR and Western blot showed that the expression levels of anti-apoptotic factor Bcl-2 in A549 cells were significantly decreased at both mRNA and protein levels at 48 hrs after treatment with GEN, but the levels of pro-apoptotic Bax were significantly increased at both mRNA and protein levels.
Conclusion: GEN can inhibit the proliferation of A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells in vitro and induce their apoptosis. The antitumor activity of GEN is achieved by downregulating Bcl-2 and upregulating Bax. Therefore, GEN can be applied to the clinical treatment of lung adenocarcinoma.