Adenovirus-mediated wild-type p53 transfer radiosensitizes H1299 cells to subclinical-dose carbon-ion irradiation through the restoration of p53 function.

To determine whether adenovirus-mediated wild-type p53 transfer after radiotherapy could radiosensitize non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells to subclinical-dose carbon-ion beam (C-beam), H1299 cells were exposed to a C-beam or gamma-ray and then infected with 5 MOI of AdCMV-p53 or GFP (C-beam or gamma-ray with p53 or GFP). Cell cycle was detected by flow cytometric analysis. The apoptosis was examined by a fluorescent microscope with DAPI staining. DNA fragmentation was monitored by the TUNEL assay. P53 mRNA was detected by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. The expression of p53, MDM(2), and p21 was monitored by Western blot. Survival fractions were determined by colony-forming assay. The percentages of G(1)-phase cells in C-beam with p53 increased by 8.2%-16.0%, 5.2%-7.0%, and 5.8%-18.9%, respectively, compared with C-beam only, gamma-ray with p53, or p53 only. The accumulation of G(2)-phase cells in C-beam with p53 increased by 5.7%-8.9% and 8.8%-14.8%, compared with those in gamma-ray with p53 or p53 only, respectively. The percentage of apoptosis for C-beam with p53 increased by 7.4%-19.1%, 5.8%-11.7%, and 5.2 %-19.2%, respectively, compared with C-beam only, gamma-ray with p53, or p53 only. The level of p53 mRNA in C-beam with p53 was significantly higher than that in p53 only. The expression level of p53 and p21 in C-beam with p53 was significantly higher than that in both C-beam with GFP and p53 only. The survival fractions for C-beam with p53 were significantly less than those for the other groups (p < 0.05). The data suggested that AdCMV-p53 transfer could more efficiently radiosensitize H1299 cells to subclinical-dose C-beam irradiation through the restoration of p53 function.