Inhibitory effects of combination nano-curcumin, berberine and 5-fu on invasion of mcf-7 breast cancer cell line

Parisa Zia sarabi,1 Amirreza hesari,2 Malieh bagheri,3 Faezeh ghasemi,4,*

1. 1- Molecular and Medicine Research Center, Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran
2. 1- Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran
3. 1- Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran
4. 4- Blood Transfusion Research Center, High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine,Next to Milad To

Abstract

Introduction

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related death in women. berberin and nano-curcumin are two natural compounds discovered with anti-cancer properties and extremely low side effects to normal cells. the aim of this study was to investigate the synergistic effects of combination these two compounds with 5-fu on invasion of the mcf-7 breast cancer cell line in five treatment groups.

Methods

Mtt test was used to obtain the ic50 doses of combining berbine, nano-curcumin and 5-fu on mcf-7 cell line. evaluating the inhibitory effects of drugs on invasion of the mcf-7 cell line, performed by trans well chamber technique, colored with gimsea. it should be noted that groups of treatments were a (cell control) b (nano-curcumin) c (berberine) d (standard drug) e (combination of nano-curcumin and berberine) f (nano-curcumin, berberine and standard drug combinations). analyzing the statistical results done using one-way anova and tukey multiple range tests. (p-values < 0.05).

Results

With knowing the fact that, the more the cells pass from the interstitial pores and reach from the chambers to the wells, the more invasive they are, we took pictures from the bottoms of the wells and we detected decrease in all 5 groups of drug treatments, but the most decline in invasion was detected in last group that belonged to the combination of nano-curcumin, berberine and the standard drug, the next declines were seen in e, d, c, b groups, respectively.

Conclusion

The analysis of the results showed that the combination of nano-curcumin, berberine and 5-fu had synergistic inhibitory effects on invasion of mcf-7 breast cancer cell line. therefore, combination of these two natural compounds with standard drugs emphasizes on their potency for improving breast cancer outcomes.

Keywords

Nano – curcumin, berberin, breast cancer, mcf-7