RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of methionine restriction on proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis of human acute leukemia cells. METHODS: Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was used to detect the effect of methionine restriction on HL-60 and Jurkat cells proliferation. The effect of methionine restriction on cell cycle of HL-60 and Jurkat cells was examined by PI staining. Annexin V-FITC / PI double staining was applied to detect apoptosis of HL-60 and Jurkat cells following methionine restriction. The expression of cell cycle-related proteins cyclin B1, CDC2 and apoptosis-related protein Bcl-2 was evaluated by Western blot assay. RESULTS: Methionine restriction significantly inhibited the proliferation of HL-60 and Jurkat cells in a time-dependent manner (HL-60: r =0.7773, Jurkat: r =0.8725), arrested the cells at G2/M phase (P < 0.001), and significantly induced apoptosis of HL-60 and Jurkat cells (HL-60: P < 0.001; Jurkat: P < 0.05). Furthermore, Western blot analysis demonstrated that methionine restriction significantly reduced the proteins expression of Cyclin B1 (P < 0.05), CDC2 (P < 0.01) and Bcl-2 (P < 0.001) in HL-60 and Jurkat cells. CONCLUSION: Acute leukemia cells HL-60 and Jurkat exhibit methionine dependence. Methionine restriction can significantly inhibit the proliferation, promote cell cycle arrest and induce apoptosis of HL-60 and Jurkat cells, which suggests that methionine restriction may be a potential therapeutic strategy for acute leukemia.