Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Effect of capecitabine and melatonin on HER2+ (SK-BR-3) and HER2- (MCF7) human breast cancer cell lines

Sepideh Shayan¹, Laya Takbiri Osgoei² , Fatemeh Javani Jouni³

¹Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran; ²Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran; ³Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Health, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

For correspondence:- Laya Osgoei Email: l_takbiri@iau-tnb.ac.ir Tel:+989057241495

Accepted: 27 June 2023 Published: 31 July 2023

Citation: Shayan S, Osgoei LT, Jouni FJ. Effect of capecitabine and melatonin on HER2+ (SK-BR-3) and HER2- (MCF7) human breast cancer cell lines. Trop J Pharm Res 2023; 22(7):1387-1393 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v22i7.5

© 2023 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To determine the effect of melatonin in combination with capecitabine on the proliferation and induction of apoptosis in MCF-7 and SK-BR-3 breast cancer cell lines.

Methods: The MTT assay (3- (4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl) -2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) was performed to investigate the effect of capecitabine and in combination with melatonin on cell lines and to determine the half-maximal concentration (IC50) and combination index. expression of apoptotic markers, Bax, Bcl-2, and caspase-3 were measured by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) after treatment.

Results: The IC₅₀ of melatonin and capecitabine in MCF-7 and SK-BR-3 cell lines were 4.52 mM and 619.36 µg/mL, and 5.1 mM and 679.51 µg/mL, respectively. The combined use of melatonin and capecitabine significantly reduced IC₅₀. Also, combination index (CI) values were < 1, indicating that the combination of capecitabine and melatonin has a synergistic effect. The results of gene expression also showed enhancement in the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in melatonin-capecitabine combination compared with capecitabine alone in both cell lines.

Conclusion: Melatonin-capecitabine-induced cell death is controlled by caspase-3 and Bax/Bcl-2-dependent apoptosis. The combination of melatonin and capecitabine has a synergistic effect on both HER2+ and HER2- cells.

Keywords: Melatonin, Capecitabine, Breast cancer, MCF7, SK-BR-3, Apoptosis