The combined effects of matrine (Mat) and cisplatin on the survival and apoptosis of rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) RD cells, as well as the possible mechanism of the synergistic effect of Mat and cisplatin were investigated in the present study. RMS RD cells were divided and treated as follows: control group, 5 mg/l cisplatin group, Mat groups (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 g/l), and Mat (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 g/l) combined with 5 mg/l cisplatin groups. An MTT assay and flow cytometry were applied to detect the survival and apoptotic rates, respectively, while RT-PCR was applied to detect the expression levels of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) mRNA in the RD cells of each group. The survival rates of RD cells in each experimental group were lower than in the control group, and the apoptotic rates were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). An increase in drug concentrations led to the cell proliferation inhibitory and apoptotic rates of the single Mat groups increasing as a function of dose (pairwise comparison among the groups, P<0.05), while the proliferation inhibitory and apoptotic rates of Mat combined with the cisplatin groups under different concentration were significantly higher than those of the single Mat and single cisplatin groups under the same concentration (P<0.01). The expression levels of XIAP mRNA in the RD cells of each experimental group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). Additionally, the expression levels of XIAP mRNA in the group treated with Mat and cisplatin were significantly lower than those of the single cisplatin and single Mat groups (P<0.01). In conclusion, Mat and cisplatin are capable of inhibiting the proliferation of RD cells and inducing apoptosis by suppressing the XIAP mRNA expression levels.
Keywords: X-linked apoptosis inhibition gene; chemotherapy; children; cisplatin; human rhabdomyosarcoma RD cells; matrine.