Resistin increases cisplatin-induced cytotoxicity in lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells via a mitochondria-mediated pathway

Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer with a high mortality rate. Cisplatin is one of the most important chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of lung cancer patients, especially in advanced stages. Recent studies show that cisplatin may interact with mitochondria to induce apoptosis, which may partly account for its cytotoxicity. In the study, we explored the effect of resistin on cisplatin-induced cytotoxicity in A549 cells and assessed whether mitochondria-dependent apoptosis was involved. Our results found that 25 ng/ml resistin could significantly increase cisplatin-induced apoptosis and G2/M phase arrest, enhance reactive oxygen species generation, exacerbate the collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential, promote the distribution of cytochrome C in the cytoplasm from mitochondria, and activate caspase 3. Therefore, the results suggested that resistin might increase cisplatin-induced cytotoxicity via a mitochondria-mediated pathway in A549 cells. However, the precise mechanism remains to be explored in the future.