Background
Modern and ancient medical sciences should be used to treat cancer. Herbal medicine is well known among the ancient medical sciences. Healing properties have been observed in some species of Daphne. The effect of Daphne plant extract on the k-562 cell line has been previously studied, and Gleevec is a well-known and effective drug in the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia.
Material and Methods
In this study, the simultaneous effect of using herbal medicine and a targeted therapy drug on the k-562 cell line was investigated. The presence of some species of Daphne in Iran motivated us to evaluate the cytotoxic activity of Daphne mucronata on human leukemia cancer cells. Anti-proliferative activity of the dichloromethane extract of daphne mucronate (Thymelaeaceae) as a new anticancer medicinal plant was evaluated. Apoptotic and necrotic changes in cells membrane were examined using the flow cytometry method. Changes in Bax and Bcl2 gene expression were investigated using real-time PCR. The MIC and IC50 concentration of Daphne extract combine with Imatinib were tested on the K-562 cell line.
Results
The K-562 cells responded to extract treatments in a dose-dependent manner, and the MIC and the IC50 of the crude extract were calculated. The cell viability was quantitated by MTT assay.
Conclusion
Daphne extract could effectively decrease the viability of the cell line. The necrotic effect of Daphne extract was evaluated by Flow cytometry of Annexin, P.I., and an increase in gene expression of Bax and Bcl2 was observed in cells exposed to the Daphne extract. The combination of Daphne extracts with Imatinib shows enhancement in the cytotoxic effect of Imatinib.