Experimental study of apoptosis and its molecular mechanisms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell induced by millimeter wave irradiation

The effect of millimeter wave radiation on the nasopharyngeal carcinoma cel l line CNE1 cell proliferation and apoptosis and the expression of related genes was studied by using cell count, light microscopy and the flow cytome try (FCM). By millimeter wave radiation with 1 mW/cm(2) power density at fr equency 42.2GHz and wave length 7.1mm on CNE1 cells for a duration of 30min /day for 4 days, cell proliferation and cloning formation were inhibited ma rkedly, and cell apoptosis was induced. FCM also revealed that the inhibiti ng effect of CNE1 proliferation by millimeter wave was probably associated with the up-regulation of P21 and the down-regulation of Cyclin D-1. The mo lecular mechanism of apoptosis inducing may be p53-independent and e-Myc-de pendent. The up-regulation of c-Myc and Fas and down-regulation of Bcl-2 ma y play an important role in the process of apoptosis.