Heterogeneous induction of apoptosis in colon cancer cells by wild-type p53 gene transfection

To examine the effects of wild-type (wt)-p53 gene transfer on cancer cell growth and apoptosis induction, we transduced human wt-p53 cDNA into three colon cancer cell lines either with or without a mutation of the p53 gene using the HVJ-cationic liposome method. Wt-p53 gene transfer, thus, induced an apparent growth arrest in all cell lines, but itsenhancement of the apoptotic rate varied (from about 4 to 70 times). The simultaneous doxorubicin treatment was able to enhance growth arrest and the apoptosis induction rate. These findings suggest that wt-p53 gene transfer using HVJ- cationic liposomes seems to be a potentially effective therapeutic strategy, however wt-p53 gene transfer still appears to be more effective in combination with other cytotoxic treatments.