Sodium butyrate induces growth arrest and senescence‐like phenotypes in gynecologic cancer cells

We demonstrated here the growth‐suppressing effects of sodium butyrate (NaB) on human endometrial and ovarian cancer cells. The arrest of cells at the G1 checkpoint accounted for this effect. NaB‐mediated p21 might arrest endometrial and ovarian cancer cells at the G0/G1 phase by eliciting pRb unphosphorylation. To demonstrate the role of pRb regulation by p21, we measured the sensitivity to NaB of cervical cancer cells in which pRb had been inactivated by HPV E7. The cervical cancer cells displayed a sensitivity in NaB‐mediated G2/M arrest in addition to their sensitivity in G0/G1 arrest. Arrest at G0/G1 and G2/M accompanied induction of senescence‐like phenotypes (SLPs). Most importantly, the effect of NaB on senescence induction was not coupled with the predominance of hypophosphorylated pRb forms in the cervical cancer cells. This suggested that NaB had the potential to elicit SLPs through p21‐mediated withdrawal from cell cycle progression. The consequences of p21 induction were manifold. The effects of NaB on gynecologic cancer cell growth indicated its potential use in cancer treatment. NaB was effective even in the cancer cells with mutant p53 and/or Rb genes by eliciting cell senescence. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.