Mcl-1 involves in G2/M arrest of HL-60 cells induced by diallyl disulfide

AIM: To investigate the role of Mcl-1 in the G₂/M arrest induced by diallyl disulfide (DADS) in leukemic HL-60 cells.METHODS: The inhibitory effect of DADS on human leukemic HL-60 cells was detected by CCK-8 method in vitro. Flow cytometry analysis was employed to observe the cycle arrest in HL-60 cells and the effect of DADS-induced G₂/M arrest on HL-60 cells with Mcl-1 gene knockdown by RNAi silencing. The expression of Mcl-1, PCNA and CDK1 in HL-60 cells treated with DADS was determined by Western blotting. The binding of Mcl-1 with PCNA and CDK1 was detected by coimmuno-precipitation. RESULTS: HL-60 cells were treated with DADS at concentration of 15, 30, 60, 120 or 240 μmol/L for 48 h. The inhibition rates of HL-60 cell proliferation were 31.15%, 55.88%, 66.14%, 75.29% and 80.35%, respectively, and gradually enhanced with the increase in the concentration of DADS (P<0.05). Flow cytometry analysis revealed that the proliferation of HL-60 cells was blocked by DADS in the G₂/M phase. Treatment with DADS for 24 h and 48 h at concentrations of 60 μmol/L and 120 μmol/L, the percentage of G₂/M phase cells increased as compared to the untreated cells (P<0.05). DADS induced arrest of HL-60 cells in G₂/M phase in a time- and dose- dependent manner (P<0.05). The results of Western blot analysis indicated that Mcl-1, PCNA and CDK1 in HL-60 cells were significantly reduced after treated with DADS (P<0.05). HL-60 cell cycle progression delayed by silencing Mcl-1 gene with siRNA technique, suggesting that silence of Mcl-1 gene led to G₂/M arrest. Compared to the cells treated with DADS only, the percentage of G₂/M cells raised in the cells with Mcl-1 gene silencing and treated with DADS (P<0.05), indicating that Mcl-1 gene silencing enhanced the effect of DADS-induced G₂/M arrest in HL-60 cells. The binding of Mcl-1 with PCNA and CDK1 was detected by coimmuno-precipitation and the formation of heterodimers was observed, which was decreased after treated with DADS for 4 h.CONCLUSION: DADS inhibits the proliferation of HL-60 cells and induces its G₂/M phase arrest. The decreased expression of PCNA is related to inhibiting the proliferation of leukemic cells. Knockdown of Mcl-1 gene enhances the effect of DADS-induced G₂/M arrest.