Genetic transfer of PNAS-4 induces apoptosis and enhances sensitivity to gemcitabine in lung cancer

PNAS-4 has been demonstrated to induce apoptosis in U2OS cells. To evaluate its feasibility as a new strategy for cancer therapy, we analyzed its anti-tumor effect with or without gemcitabine in A549 lung cancer cells. MTT assay, Hoechst 33258 staining and flow cytometric analysis were used to determine the cytotoxicity of PNAS-4 alone or plus gemcitabine. The anti-tumor efficacy was further investigated in vivo with nude mice. PNAS-4 plasmid/liposome complexes were injected by tail vein every 4 days. Gemcitabine was given ip on a weekly schedule for 4 weeks. PNAS-4 alone and plus gemcitabine induced apoptosis in A549 cells in vitro. The xenograft lung cancer treated with PNAS-4 retarded growth compared with the empty vector. The combination of PNAS-4 with gemcitabine induced anti-tumor activity accompanied by an increase in apoptotic cells compared with PNAS-4 or gemcitabine alone. No other obvious toxicity was found. PNAS-4 therefore suppresses tumor growth in vivo and enhances sensitivity to gemcitabine. This suggests that the PNAS-4 gene could be a potential candidate for lung cancer therapy alone or in combination with gemcitabine.