Apoptosis of HeLa cell lines incubated with retinol

The higher concentrations of soluble APO-1/Fas antigen in supernatants from the HeLa cell line without retinol may constitute a protective mechanism of the cells infected with the virus before undergoing Fas/FasL-dependent apoptosis. Lower concentrations of sAPO-1/Fas antigen in the supernatant from HeLa cell culture incubated with retinol may suggest that mechanisms protecting infected cells against Fas/FasL-mediated apoptosis become defective under the influence of retinol. Our studies confirm that Vitamin A and its analogues inhibit the proliferation of cells associated with HPV infection and suggest promising effects of retinoid therapy in inhibiting the progression of early cervical lesions to cancer.