Synergistic effect of vitamin A and fusidic acid on Hela cells in vitro.

Examinations were made to see if various vitamin A compounds, including retinol, retinal, retinol palmitate, retinol acetate, and retinoic acid, enhance the action of fusidic acid, an antibiotic and inhibitor of protein synthesis, on human carcinoma HeLa cells in vitro. Among these vitamins, retinal and retinol were found to potentiate strongly the effect of fusidic acid on HeLa cells. In this system, however, retinol palmitate, retinoic acid, and retinol acetate in 10 approximately 20 microgram/ml concentration were not found to enhance the effect of fusidic acid significantly.