Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of lidamycin (LDM) against multiple myeloma and its mechanism. METHODS The human multiple myeloma RPMI 8226 cells in logarithm growth phase were selected and were randomly divided into control group, 0.1, 0.5 and 1 nmol/L LDM groups. MTS assay was used to detect the proliferation rate of RPMI 8226 cells and the flow cytometry method was used to analyze the distribution of cell cycle and cell apoptosis in various groups. The expression levels of protein associated with apoptosis and cell cycle were detected by Western blotting method. Results After 48 h cell culture, the cell proliferation rate in LDM groups was lower than those in control group (P < 0.05). The number of S phase and G2/M phase cells in LDM groups was higher than those in control group (P < 0.05). The cell apoptosis rate in LDM groups was higher than those in control group (P < 0.05). The expressions of cleaved caspase-3, caspase-7, caspase-9 and poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) in LDM group were higher than those in control group (P < 0.05). The expressions of p21 and p27 in LDM group were higher than those in control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion LDM can induce apoptosis by increasing the levels of cleaved caspase-3, caspase-7, caspase-9, and PARP in cells and LDM can induce the S phase and G2/M phase arrest by increasing the levels of p21 and p27 in human multiple myeloma RPMI 8226 cells.

Key words: lidamycin, multiple myeloma, cell apoptosis, cell cycle arrest