caffeine as a natural plant compound induces apoptosis in leukemia cacer cells

The use of natural substances can be an important strategy to prevent malignancy and cancer cells, which have also inhibited cancer in laboratory models (1). caffeine belongs to the methylxanthine group, being in plant-derived products, such as tea leaves and coffee beans (2). reports have indicated that caffeine can have different effects, including anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anti-tumor properties (3). studies have shown that caffeine has anti-tumor effects through affecting the cell cycle and inducing apoptosis via activation of caspases 3 and 9. furthermore, it has been reported that caffeine could be used as an adjuvant therapy to increase the toxicity of anti-tumor agents. in this study, k562 cells were treated with caffeine for 48 hr. using an inverted microscope, the morphological changes and growth of cancer cells were examined and images of cancer cells were obtained at 40× magnification. nucleus morphology was also examined using fluorescent propidium iodide and acridine orange stainings. in addition, caspase 3 activity of cells was measured after k562 cells were exposed to different concentrations of caffeine (100, 200, 400, 600, 800, and 1000 μg/ml) after 48 hr. the results of the present study showed that caffeine as a plant compound can reduce cell proliferation, induce apoptosis, and increase caspase 3 activity in a dose-dependent manner in k562 cells as one of the types of chronic myeloid leukemia cancer cells, and it can be considered an adjuvant treatment for leukemia.