Synergistic antitumor activity of TRAIL combined with chemotherapeutic agents in A549 cell lines in vitro and in vivo.

Purpose: To investigate the synergistic cytotoxicity of TRAIL in combination with chemotherapeutic agents in A549 cell lines, we systematically evaluated the cytotoxicity of TRAIL alone and TRAIL in combination with cisplatin, paclitaxel (Taxol) or actinomycin D in A549 cell lines in vitro and in vivo, and whether the sensitivity was correlated with the expression level of TRAIL receptors.

Methods: We investigated the cytotoxicity of TRAIL alone and the synergistic antitumor effects of TRAIL in combination with chemotherapeutic agents in A549 cells by crystal violet staining and FACS in vitro. The expression levels of DR4, DR5, DcR1 and DcR2 were measured in TRAIL-treated and chemotherapeutic agent-treated A549 cells by Western blotting.