Abstract:Objective:To investigate potential mechanism of arsenic trioxide (As2O3) and/or adriamycin (ADM) induces apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. Methods:Human hepatocellular carcinoma cells, HepG2, were treated with As2O3 combined with/without ADM in various concentrations for various time, and then the expression of survivin was detected by immunocytochemistry and RT-PCR respectively. Results:(1)Before the cells were interfered with drugs, survivin was highly expressed in HepG2 cells. (2)Expression of survivin was reduced in cells treated with various concentrations of As2O3 or ADM , and the reduction was dependent on durg concentration and time, these two factors were interrelated. (3)Expression of survivin was reduced more markedly in cells treated with ADM than in those treated with As2O3 and the reduction was additionally increased in cells treated with a combination of the two compounds. Conclusions:(1)Either As2O3 or ADM can downregulate the expression of survivin in HepG2 cells in a concentration-or time-dependent manner; (2)At the same concentration, ADM is more effective than As2O3 on the downregulation of survivin expression in HepG2 cells, but the effect can be enhanced by combination of these two drugs. (3)As2O3 and ADM may induce apoptosis in HepG2 cells through the downregulation of survivin expression and thus exert their anti-cancer effect. Their combination may enhance their anti-tumor effect, so that in clinical use, the dosage of each durg may be reduced.