Ascorbic acid induces apoptosis in adult T-cell leukemia.

BACKGROUND Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) is an acute malignancy of activated T-cells caused by the human T-cell lymphotrophic virus type-1 (HTLV-1). MATERIALS AND METHODS The effects of non-cytotoxic concentrations of ascorbic acid (AA) were evaluated against HTLV-1 positive and negative cells. The effect of AA on apoptosis and proliferation was evaluated by cell cycle analysis. The role of p53, p21 Bax and Bcl-2a on cell cycle modulation and apoptosis was also assessed. The anti-proliferative effects were tested by determining the changes in the expression of transforming growth factors (TGF-alpha, TGF-beta1 and TGF-beta2). RESULTS Ascorbic acid was found to reduce the proliferation of cells and induce apoptosis by the modulation of p53, p21, Bcl-2 and Bax. CONCLUSION The results of this study show the anti-proliferative effects of AA against leukemic cells.