Acid phosphatase assay for measuring the proliferation of tumor cells / 中华检验医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective　To establish a simple assay for quick scanning of effective agents in growth inhibition and apoptosis induction. Methods　After observing the correlation between cell number and acid phosphatase activity, and between cell apoptosis and acid phosphatase activity, we established a microplate densimetry method to measure the acid phosphatase activity. We also compared the sensitivity with MTT assay and confirmed cell apoptosis by flow cytometry. Results　In two cell lines of cancer (Hep G2 and CBRH-7919 cells), the acid phosphatase activity was correlated well with the cell number, and was directly proportional to the cell number in the range of 0.5×103～0.7×103. The coefficient reached to 0.994. After stimulation of phorbel ester (TPA) for one hour, the acid phosphatase activity rose significantly. In contrast, after the inhibition of cell growth by As2O3, the acid phosphatase activity decreased significantly. The higher the concentration of As2O3, the lower the acid phophatase activity. The acid phophatase activity went down significantly when apoptosis in Hep G2 cells was only 3.98% and no apoptosis in CBRH-7919 cells after 24-hour treatment with As2O3. Conclusions　The acid phophatase activity of cell may be used to measure cell proliferation and apoptosis. Because of the easiness and quickness, acid phophatase assay might be an ideal approach to scan the effective growth inhibitors and apoptosis inducers in a large number of drugs.