Anticancer effect of tetrandrine on primary cancer cells isolated from ascites and pleural fluids

Objective: The present study was designed to examine the effect of tetrandrine on primary cancer cells isolated from the ascites or pleural fluids of patients with metastatic cancers. Methods: Primary cancer cells were isolated from the pleural fluids (n = 13) or ascites (n = 21) of patients. Compared with culture cell lines, the response of these cancer cells to tetrandrine and chemotherapeutic agents commonly used in clinical practice were determined by WST-8 assay. Tetrandrine-induced apoptosis in primary cancer cells was determined by Annexin V-FITC assay. Quantitative RT-PCR was used to examine the role of apoptotic associated genes in the anticancer effect of tetrandrine. Results: The primary cancer cells isolated from effusions showed sensitivity to tetrandrine with IC50 values of 38.23 +/- 25.77 mu M, similar to the IC50 in established cell lines. Patients with gastric cancers were more sensitive to tetrandrine than patients with lung cancers (P = 0.04). Four cancer cells isolated from effusions were resistant to tetrandrine, which also had increased tolerance to docetaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil. We also observed a weak but significant correlation between sensitivity to tetrandrine and cellular expression of bcl-2 (P = 0.035, r = -0.364). Conclusions: Using cancer cells isolated from the ascites or pleural fluids, this study shows the potential anticancer effect of tetrandrine against primary cancer cells. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.