Resveratrol synergistically triggers apoptotic cell death with arsenic trioxide via oxidative stress in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells.

Arsenic trioxide (As2O3) is a potent anticancer drug for the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia. However, the clinical applications of the agent to treat solid tumors are largely compromised by the drug resistance. Our previous study demonstrated that resveratrol, a plant-derived natural product, could potentiate the toxicity of arsenite in lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells at relatively high concentration, indicating that combination of resveratrol and As2O3 may be a helpful strategy to solve the drug resistance of As2O3 in tumor cells. To test this possibility, in the present study, we determined the combined effects of resveratrol and As2O3 in cultured A549 cells. Our results showed that co-treatment of resveratrol with As2O3 resulted in a synergistic augmentation of cytotoxicity and apoptosis in cells at the tested concentration. To further reveal the detailed mechanism of this synergistic effect on cytotoxicity and apoptosis, apoptosis-related proteins, DNA and chromosomal damage, and the level of oxidative stress were also evaluated. Our data revealed that co-treatment with resveratrol and As2O3 caused more genotoxicity and serious oxidative stress in A549 cells than that of single agent treatment. Moreover, resveratrol and As2O3 could also corporately enhance the release of cytochrome c and the expressions of death receptor Fas and FasL. Together, our results suggest that resveratrol and As2O3 synergistically increase the apoptotic cell death in A549 cells through induction of oxidative stress, indicating that the combination of resveratrol with As2O3 may be a promising strategy to increase the clinical efficacy of As2O3 in the treatment of lung tumor.