Antiproliferative effectiveness of colchine and curkumin on A549 lung cancer cells

Lung cancer cases, which are in the first place in cancer-related deaths, are increasing in the world and in our country. Natural products, especially plants, have a great importance among the search for new agents that can be an alternative to existing chemotherapeutics for the treatment of this common type of cancer. The antiproliferative activities of curcumin obtained from the roots (rhizomes) of Curcuma longa L. and colchicine, an alkaloid of Colchicum autumnale L., on various cancer types are being investigated. In this thesis, the synergistic activities of colchicine and curcumin combinations, which are known to have potential efficacy as anticancer agents, on A549 lung cancer cell line were investigated. Antiproliferative activity was determined by MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) and Neutral Red staining methods. First, the IC50 values of colchicine and curcumin on the A549 cell line were determined, then the synergistic antiproliferative activity of these two compounds combined on the same cell line at IC50 and below doses was determined. The highest inhibition effect of colchicine on A549 Lung cancer cell line was determined at a concentration of 25 µg/ml. At this concentration, the inhibition value determined by the MTT test is 64.37%, and the inhibition determined by Neutral Red test is 55.45%. The IC50 value of colchicine was calculated as 20 nM and 29 nM for the MTT and Neutral Red test, respectively. The highest inhibition effect of curcumin on A549 Lung cancer cell line was determined at a concentration of 125 µg/ml. At this concentration, 71.86% inhibition was determined by MTT test and 59.94% inhibition was obtained with Neutral Red test. The IC50 value was calculated as 48.69 µM and 50.53 µM for the MTT and Neutral Red test, respectively. The synergistic activities of colchicine and curcumin combinations at IC50 (25 nM + 50 µM) doses, determined by MTT and Neutral Red, were determined as 48.05% and 44.36%, respectively. Inhibitions at IC50/2 (12.5 µM + 25 µM) concentration were 49.21% and 41.6% by MTT and Neutral Red test; It was measured as 40.51% and 40.33% at IC50 /4 (6.25 nM + 12.5 µM) concentration. The results show that a significant synergistic effect occurs in combinations of these two compounds at IC50/2 and IC50/4 doses. These results reveal that when these two compounds are used together, they can show similar effects at lower doses than when they are used alone. Keywords: Curcumin, colchicine, Curcuma longa, Colchicum autumnale, synergistic activity, MTT ((3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide)), Neutral red, A549