B16 and cloudman S91 mouse melanoma cells susceptibility to apoptosis after dacarbazine treatment.

Considering the necessity of an individual choice of cytostatic drugs for patients with cancer disease and tumor cells' resistance to these compounds, their ability to induction of apoptosis should be investigated. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of dacarbazine (DTIC) on morphology and kinetics of proliferation of B16 and Cloudman S91 cells. It is important to determine the kind of death induced by the DTIC and the effect of a specific concentration. The evaluation of apoptosis and necrosis in these two mouse melanoma cell lines in vitro was performed. Induction of apoptosis was estimated in annexin V binding assay by flow cytometry. DNA content and cell cycle phases were determined by propidium iodide staining. DTIC induced morphological changes typical for apoptosis and necrosis in both cell lines. DTIC caused cell cycle arrest in S and G2/M phase of both cell lines which showed hypertetraploidy. The highest induction of apoptosis was observed in DTIC concentration of 200 microg/mL for B16 cells (11%) and 100 microg/mL for apoptosis Cloudman S91 cells (22.2%). Higher doses of DTIC caused intensification of necrotic process. The B16 melanoma cells are more sensitive to DTIC than the Cloudman S91 cells, however more intensive apoptotic process was detected in Cloudman S91 cells already at lower concentration of DTIC.