Figure 2.

Growth inhibition by beryllium is p53 dependent. (a) A172 cells with or without siRNA‐based p53 knockdown were cultured in 0, 3, 10, 30, 100 or 300 μm BeSO ₄ for 9 d, with passage on day 3 and day 6 to maintain sub‐confluency. Cell counts on day 9 are shown as percent of untreated control (mean ± SD). (b) Normal A172 cells, the E6‐transfected A172 cell line and the A172‐Neo transfection control cell line were cultured in 0, 10, 30, 100 or 300 μm BeSO ₄ for 6 d, with passage on day 3 to maintain sub‐confluency. Cell counts on day 6 are shown as percent of untreated control (mean ± SD). (c) A172 cells with functional p53 (A172 and Lentiviral control) and a shRNA‐based p53 knockdown cell line (Lentiviral p53 KO) were cultured in RPMI containing 0 μm BeSO ₄ (left) or 10 μm BeSO ₄ (right) for 12 d. Cumulative cell number (mean ± SD) was determined every 3 d over the 12‐d period