[Effects of aclarubicin on growth, differentiation and apoptosis of tumor cells in vitro].

Aclarubicine induces various effects after several days of incubation with human leukemic cells HL60: cell growth inhibition, inductions of differentiation, necrosis and apoptosis. Several methods of detection of differentiated and apoptotic cells were studied. The methods utilizing optical microscopy were used as references. Flow cytometry (FCM) appeared to have a higher sensitivity, but it yielded somewhat different results. Aclarubicine and doxorubicin have dose-dependent effects, except for the differentiation induction by aclarubicine, which had a maximum effect and then decreased; this probably means that the inductions of differentiation and apoptosis could be independent. Different kinetic studies indicated that differentiation increased quickly after 24 to 48 hours and reached a plateau toward 72 hours, where approximately 80% of the cells were differentiated. Necrosis increased at the same time, but less, with a 1 hour incubation with 75 nmol/l of aclarubicine. Apoptosis appeared in an irregular and non-reproducible manner. The kinetic study also indicated a certain independence between the differentiation and apoptosis inductions.