The anti-cancer effect of Propranolol in K562 cell line: an in vitro study

Introduction: &Beta;-AR receptors are one of the proteins involved in cancer and stress. The therapeutic activity of &beta;-blockers such as propranolol is attributed to the blockade of &beta;1-adrenergic receptors (ARs). In this study, the effect of propranolol on the viability of K562 cell line was examined. Material and methods: In order to assessment of anti-tumoral effects of propranolol, different concentrations of propranolol were prepared. K562 cells were treated with different concentrations of propranolol, then the percentage of inhibitory effect of propranolol on K562 cell viability at different times (24, 48 and 72 hours) was estimated by MTT assay. Gel electrophoresis of DNA and DAPI staining were used for apoptosis investigation. Statistical comparisons were performed using two-sample t-test, Nominal significance level of each univariate test was 0.05. Results: Propranolol decreased viability of K562 cell line. The inhibitory effect of propranolol is time- and concentration-dependent, thus in higher concentrations and 72 hours after treatment, the maximum inhibitory effect was observed. (P<0.05). As the results showed, Propranolol induces apoptosis in K562 cell line. Conclusions: With respect to the inhibitory effect of propranolol on cell viability and its apoptotic effect on K562 cell line, this drug may be used for cancer therapy

Anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects of Lovastatin on K562 Erthromyloidy cancer cell line

Background and Objective: Lovastatin is a HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor and used for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. Inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase results in inhibiting the activity of the Ras proto-oncogene that has mutations in most cancers. This study was done to determine the Anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects of Lovastatin on K562 Erthromyloidy cancer cell line. Methods: The K562 Erthromyloidy cancer cell line were cultured and treated with different concentrations of lovastatin. Their antitumor effect on K562 cells were assessed via MTT assay after 72 hours. Hoechst (33342) staining and DNA electrophoresis were used for study of apoptosis. Results: Lovastatin had antitumor effect on K562 Erthromyloidy cancer cell line and this effect increased by incease of time and concentration.The maximum inhibitory effect was 59% in higher concentration (100 µM) and 72 hours after the treatment. Reduced cell growth at 24 and 48 hours after treatment was 24% and 43%, respectively. Lovastatin significantly inhibited K562 cell growth (P<0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that lovastatin has antitumor effect on K562 Erthromyloidy cancer cell line

Berberine-induced apoptosis via decreasing the survivin protein in K562 cell line

Berberine is an isoquinoline alkaloid with multiple pharmacological activities, including anti-inflammatory and anti-diarrhea effect, the induction of apoptosis and anti-cancer effect. It has been reported that berberine exerts its anti-inflammatory effect via suppressing nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) expression. Survivin and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) proteins may contribute to the causal relationship between anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic function. To investigate the mechanism of berberine-induced apoptotic activities, the human erythro-myeloblastoid leukemia cell line (K562 cell line) was treated with different concentrations of berberine (25-100 μM). The most significant cellular growth arrest and apoptotic effects were observed in the cells treated with 75 μM of berberine for 72 h. The results indicate that survivin and iNOS protein levels were decreased in berberine-treated cells. However, decrease in the iNOS activity did not affect the cell growth and apoptosis. Moreover, the addition of NO donor, sodium nitroprusside, to culture medium decreased the cell growth in the present cell line, but it seemed that its concentration was too low to induce apoptosis. So despite its production by iNOS in untreated cells, NO does not play a significant role in carcinogenesis in this cell line. These results indicate that the apoptotic activity of berberine may be mediated through the reduction of survivin in K562 cells, but iNOS level and its activity does not play a significant role in berberine-induced apoptosis. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC