APOPTOTIC EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT DRUGS ON CULTURED RETINOBLASTOMA Y79 CELLS

This paper deals with the apoptotic effect exerted in human retinoblas toma Y79 cells by a number of compounds. A remarkable effect was obser ved after treatment with DNA-damaging agents, such as camptothecin: et oposide, cisplatin and carboplatin; camptothecin was found to be the m ost efficacious. Treatment with these compounds induced the appearance of morphological features of apoptosis in the cells together with the distinct fragmentation of DNA, as shown by agarose gel electrophoresi s. These effects were also accompanied by a remarkable increase in the level of p53. Many other compounds, which are not DNA-damaging agents , induced the morphological features of apoptosis but none of them wer e capable of increasing the level of p53. Among these compounds, Taxol , suramin and sodium butyrate also stimulated the oligonucleosomal fra gmentation of DNA, while Cz-ceramide, a cell-permeable analogue of cer amide, and vitamin D-3 were not effective in the induction of DNA ladd ering in Y79 cells. Apoptosis was dependent on macromolecular synthesi s with all the compounds tested.