Abstract: PURPOSE: To explore the effect and mechanism of activated peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBM) on the growth and apoptosis of oral squamous carcinoma cells in vitro. METHODS: ELISA, RT-PCR, MTT and flow cytometry were used to detect cytokines secretion and oral squamous carcinoma cell growth and apoptosis affected by activated PBMCs with PHA. The data was analyzed using SPSS17.0 software pakage. RESULTS: The cytokines secretion, mRNA expression of granzyme B and perforin, inhibition of growth and induction of apoptosis of oral squamous carcinoma cells treated by the activated PBMCs with PHA were significantly higher than the control groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The human PBMC can be activated effectively with the stimulations of PHA, which can significantly inhibit growth and induce apoptosis of oral squamous carcinoma cells in vitro.

Key words: PBMC, PHA, Oral squamous cell carcinoma