The modulatory effect of septilin on cytotoxicity of cisplatin in a human breast adenocarcinoma cell line

Abstract

Cisplatin (Csp) is a recurrently used chemotherapeutic drug but its use is inadequate due to undesirable adverse effects. In search of alternative medicine more attention has been given to phytochemicals. Septilin (Spt), a polyherbal drug and its therapeutic potential is huge but there is a scarcity of studies on its cytotoxic potential on cancer cells. The current study was designed to examine the effects of Spt in combination with Csp on human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) and normal human breast epithelial (MCF-10A) cell lines. Cell viability for Spt treated cells was studied using MTT assay. IC₅₀ value of Csp on MCF-7 cells was found to be 10 µg/mL at 24 h. This dose was further used to study the combined effects of Csp with Spt on MCF-7 and MCF-10A cell lines. Maximum cytotoxicity of Spt on MCF-7 cells was observed at Spt 5 µg/mL. The mechanism of Spt induced cytotoxicity was studied using apoptosis assay. Spt did not show any cytotoxic effects on MCF-10 A normal human breast epithelial cells, indicating Spt has no effect on normal cells. Our findings suggest that Spt can be used in combination with an anticancer drug Csp to increase its efficacy and/or to minimize its side effects on normal cells.