Antileukemic activity of an arsenomolybdate in the human HL-60 and U937 leukemia cells.

The antileukemic activity, mechanisms and serum albumin interactions of an arsenomolybdate, K2 Na[AsMo6 O21 (O2 CCH2 NH3 )3 ]·6H2 O (1), was evaluated in the human leukemia HL-60 and U937 cells. The results indicated that 1 could inhibit the proliferation of both leukemia cell lines in a dose-dependent manner with the 50% lethal concentration (IC50 ) value of 8.61μM for HL-60 and 14.50μM for U937 at 24h, compare to the positive controls, all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) with IC50 value of 20.76μM and 14.85μM,and As2 O3 with IC50 value of 6.40μM and 8.75μM at 24h, respectively (P<0.05). Furthermore, the anti-leukemia activity of compound 1 might be medicated by arresting the leukemic cells in the G1 phase and inducing apoptosis via caspase-3 and bcl-2 regulatory proteins. Spectroscopic techniques results showed that the fluorescence of human serum albumin was quenched by compound 1, and the quenching mechanism was mainly static quenching. Compound 1 might be a potential medicinal candidate against acute promyelocytic leukemia.