Synergistic anti-cancer activity of the combination of dihydroartemisinin and doxorubicin in breast cancer cells

Background: dihydroartemisinin (dha) exhibits potent anti-malarial and anti-cancer activities. this study aimed to investigate the anti-proliferative effects of a combination of dha and doxorubicin (dox) on human breast cancer cells. methods: mtt assay and the combination index (ci) were used to show the anti-proliferative effects and calculate the synergism potential,respectively. flow cytometry assay was used to detect apoptosis and the intracellular accumulation of dox. jc-1 staining was used to determine the mitochondrial membrane potential. western blot analysis was used to detect the protein expression of some apoptosis-related molecules. results: asynergistic anti-proliferative effect was found,and the enhanced anti-cancer activity was observed to be accompanied by the prompt onset of apoptosis in mcf-7 cells. the combinative treatment remarkably decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential and activated caspase cascades more than the mono-treatment. pretreatment with dhaalso did not influence the accumulation of dox in mcf-7 cells. conclusion: this study presented a new opportunity to enhance the effectiveness of future treatment regimens of breast cancer using dox. copyright © 2013 by institute of pharmacology.