Cervical carcinoma is one type of cancer with a high mortality rate in women. In this research, we investigated the cytotoxic, antiproliferative and apoptosis-inducing effects of hydroxyurea on a human cervical carcinoma cell line, HeLa. We found that hydroxyurea has cytotoxic and antiproliferative effects on HeLa cells in a dose-dependent manner. | Turk J Biol 26 (2002) 145-150 © TÜB‹TAK Hydroxyurea Induces p53 Accumulation and Apoptosis in Human Cervical Carcinoma Cells Hakan AKÇA Akdeniz University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology, Arapsuyu, Antalya - TURKEY Osman Nidai ÖZEfi Cancer Research Center, Walther Oncology Center, School of Medicine, Indiana University, Building R4, Room 340. Indianapolis/Indiana/USA Received: Abstract: Cervical carcinoma is one type of cancer with a high mortality rate in women. In this research, we investigated the cytotoxic, antiproliferative and apoptosis-inducing effects of hydroxyurea on a human cervical carcinoma cell line, HeLa. We found that hydroxyurea has cytotoxic and antiproliferative effects on HeLa cells in a dose-dependent manner. We also found that hydroxyurea can increase cellular levels of p53 and p21, and induce DNA fragmentation in a dose-dependent manner. We concluded that the observed antiproliferative, cytotoxic and apoptosis inducing activities of hydroxyurea might be mediated by the induction of p53 and its transcriptional target, p21. Key Words: Hydroxyurea, p53, p21, Cervical Carcinoma, DNA fragmentation, Apoptosis p53 Birikimi ve Apoptosisin ‹nsan Servikal Karsinoma Hücrelerinde Hidroksiüre Taraf›ndan ‹ndüklenmesi Özet: Servikal karsinoma kad›nlarda yüksek ölüm oran› gösteren bir kanser tipidir. Bu araflt›rmada, hidroksiüre’nin insan servikal karsinoma hücre dizisi, HeLa, üzerindeki sitotoksik, antiproliferatif ve apoptosis indukleyici etkileri araflt›r›lm›flt›r. Hidroksiüre’nin doz ba¤›ml› olarak sitotoksik ve antiproliferatif etki gösterdi¤i saptanm›flt›r. Ayr›ca, konsantrasyona ba¤l› olarak hidroksiüre’nin hücre içi p53 ve p21 seviyelerini art›rd›¤› ve DNA fragmentasyonunu indukledi¤i saptanm›flt›r. Sonuç olarak hidroksiüre’nin antiproliferatif, sitotoksik ve apoptosisi indukleyici etkilerinin p53 ve onun transkripsiyonel hedefi, p21’in indüksiyonu arac›l›¤› ile ba¤lant›l› olabilece¤i tart›fl›lm›flt›r. Anahtar .
