The tumor suppressor p53 gene product is an essential component of the cytotoxic pathway triggered by DNA-damaging stimuli such as chemotherapeutic agents and ionizing radiation. We previously demonstrated that adenovirus-mediated wild-type p53 gene transfer could enhance the cytotoxic actions of chemotherapeutic drugs both in vitro and in vivo; however, the molecular mechanism of this chemosensitization is still unclear. Cyclin D1 is a major regulator of the progression of cells into the proliferative stage of the cell cycle. Here we show that infection with an adenovirus vector expressing the wild-type p53 gene (Ad-p53) caused an increase in cyclin D1 protein levels in human colorectal cancer cell lines DLD-1 and SW620; treatment with the anti-cancer drug adriamycin, however, down-regulated their cyclin D1 protein expression in a dose-dependent manner. The suppression of cyclin D1 expression following adriamycin treatment could be blocked by simultaneous Ad-p53 infection. Furthermore, DLD-1 and SW620 cells transfected with the cyclin D1 expression construct displayed increased sensitivity to adriamycin compared to that of the vector-transfected control. Our results suggest that ectopic wild-type p53 gene transfer results in increased cyclin D1 expression and, consequently, sensitizes human colorectal cancer cells to chemotherapeutic agents. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).