Effect of hyperbaric oxygen combined with cisplatin on the expression of Fas/FasL in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma bearing nude mice and its significance

Objective To investigate the effect of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) combined with cisplatin on the expression of Fas/FasL in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma bearing nude mice and its significance. Methods The animal model of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma was established by subcutaneous inoculation of TE-8 cells in nude mice. Twenty tumor-bearing Balb/c (nu/nu) mice were randomly divided into the control group (without any treatment), the HBO group, the DDP group that was treated with cisplatin and the HBO+ DDP group. TUNEL assay was used to detect the apoptosis of tumor cells in the nude mice after treatment. The expression levels of Fas/FasL and mRNA in the tumor bearing nude mice after treatment were detected by RT-PCR and the expression levels of Fas/FasL proteins in the tumor bearing nude mice after treatment were detected by Western blot. Results After 25 days of treatment, TUNEL detection results showed that there was apoptosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in nude mice bearing tumor tissues to various extents in the HBO, the DDP and the HBO+ DDP groups, of which the apoptosis of the HBO+ DDP group was the most significant. The levels of Fas mRNA and protein in the tumor tissues of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma of the HBO, the DDP and the HBO+ DDP groups were significantly higher than those of the control group, of which the level of the HBO+ DDP group was most prominent (P<0.05). The levels of FasL mRNA and protein in the tumor tissues of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma of the HBO, the DDP and the HBO+ DDP groups were significantly higher than that of the control group, of which the level of the HBO+ DDP group was most significant (P<0.05). Conclusions HBO combined with cisplatin could promote the apoptosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in nude mice and promote the expression of Fas/FasL mRNA, which showed of great promise for the treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Key words: Hyperbaric oxygen; Cisplatin; Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; Apoptosis; Nude mice