Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of indomethacin on the proliferation and Wnt/β-catenin pathway in K562 cells.
Methods The cell growth of K562 cells treated with different concentrations of indomethacin was assessed with MTT assay,
and the colony-forming ability of the cells was evaluated by colony-forming assay. The mRNA expressions of BCR/ABL and
β-catenin were detected by RT-PCR, and the protein expressions of pBCR/ABL, total BCR/ABL, β-catenin, pGSK-3β and c-myc
were analyzed by Western blotting. Results Indomethacin significantly suppressed the growth and colony-forming ability of
K562 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Indomethacin treatment dose-dependently decreased the protein level of pBCR/ABL
and total BCR/ABL without affecting bcr-abl mRNA expressions. Compared with the control groups, indomethacin-treated
cells showed obviously decreased mRNA and protein expressions of β-catenin and decreased protein expressions of pGSK-3β
and c-myc. Conclusion Indomethacin inhibits the proliferation of K562 cells by suppressing the activity of bcr-abl-Wnt/
β-catenin pathway.