Objective: To study the electrochemical behavior of apoptotic HL-60 cells induced with etoposide.
Methods: Electrochemical cytosensor was used to monitor HL-60 cells treated with etoposide.
Results: The peak current and electron transfer rate decreased as etoposide dosage increased. The decrease appeared at 2 micrograms/ml etoposide treatment and was remarkable at 20 micrograms/ml, which occurred before the typical changes of cell morphology and DNA contents for apoptosis. FCM-DNA analysis showed that the apoptotic cells were of 10.5%-20% while the peak current decreased from 1.8 microA to 0.4 microA after 2.3 and 4 hours treatment with 200 micrograms/ml etoposide, and the peak current after 4 hours treatment was 5 times lower than that before induction.
Conclusion: The changes of electrochemical behavior during the early stage of apoptosis occurred earlier and could be accumulated.