Retno Arianingrum, Indyah Sulistyo Arty, Sri Atun
Doxorubicin (Dox), a primary chemotherapeutic agent used for cancer treatment is known to have various side effect included multidrug resistance (MDR) phenomenon. Combination chemotherapy is one of some approaches to reduce Dox side effect. Chalcones have been reported to reduce the proliferation of many cancer cells. The research were conducted to investigate the cytotoxic activity and apoptosis induction of a chalcone derivate which is containing fluoro substituent [1 - (4" - fluorophenyl) -3 - (4' - hydroxy - 3' - methoxyphenyl) - 2 - propene - 1 -on] (FHM) and its combination with Dox on HeLa cells line. The observation of the cytotoxic activity was conducted using MTT [3 - (4, 5 - dimethyl thiazol - 2 - y1) - 2.5 - diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay. Apoptosis induction was determined by flow cytometric. The changes of cell morphology were observed using phase contrast microscopy. The combination index (CI) was used to determine the effect of the combination. The study showed that FHM inhibited the HeLa cell growth with IC50 of 34 μM, while the IC50 of Dox was 1 μM. The combination had a higher inhibitory effect on cell growth compare to the single treatment of FHM and Dox. All of the combination doses under IC50 of FHM and Dox gave synergistic (CI: - 0.7) up to strong synergistic effect (CI: 0.l - 0.3). The synergistic effects of the combination were due to their ability to induce apoptosis in the HeLa cells. According to the result, FHM was potential to be developed as a co-chemotherapeutic agent with Dox for cervical cancer. © 2017 Author(s).
Department of Chemistry Education, Faculty of Mathematic and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Karangmalang Yogyakarta, Indonesia
