Abstract: In order to investigate the growth inhibition effect of thymosin alpha 1(Tα1) on tumor cells, this study detected the effect of Tα1 on the growth and proliferation of Hela cells of cervical cancer in vitro. The morphology of Hela cells was observed by microscope, the survival and growth of the cells were assayed by MTT. PCR and Westorn Blot were used to detect the expression of lc3 after the Hela were treated with Tα1 in different concentrations. The results showed that Tα1 induced the death of Hela and expression of lc3, and the expression quantity of lc3 were positively related with Tα1 concentration within a certain range. From the finding， we suggested that Tα1 induce the Hela cells death in vitro by autophagy probably.

Key words: Hela cell, thymosin alpha 1, tumor, autophagy