6-Methoxy Podophyllotoxin Induces Apoptosis via Inhibition of TUBB3 and TOPIIA Gene Expressions in 5637 and K562 Cancer Cell Lines

Objective: podophyllotoxin (ptox), a natural compound in numerous plants, containsremarkable biological properties that include anti-tumor, anti-viral such as anti-human immunodeficiencyvirus (hiv) activities. in order to avoid its adverse effects, various compoundshave been derived from ptox. 6-methoxy ptox (mptox) is one of the naturalptox derivatives with an extra methoxy group. mptox is mostly isolated from the linumspecies. this study has sought to determine the biological effects of mptox on cancercell lines, 5637 and k562.materials and methods: in this experimental study, we treated the 5637 and k562 cancercell lines with mptox in a dose- and time-dependent manner. apoptosis was examinedby flow cytometry and viability rate was analyzed by the mtt assay. expressions of thetubulin (tubb3) and topoisomerase ii (topiia) genes were determined by real-time polymerasechain reaction (pcr).results: treatment with mptox led to significant induction of apoptosis in cancer cellscompared to control cells. gene expression analysis showed reduced levels of tubb3 andtopiia mrna following mptox treatment.conclusion: mptox inhibited tubb3 and topiia gene expression and subsequentlyinduced cell death through apoptosis. these results suggested that mptox could beconsidered a potential anti-tumor agent.