The determination of effects of metformin alone and in combination WİTH 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin on colon cancer cell line

Metformin (dimethylbiguanide) is one of the most widely prescribed drugs in the treatment of diabetes. Metformin, classified as a biguanide, is extracted from the herb Galega officinalis. In addition to its use in diabetes, metformin is also effective in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and obesity. Metformin is currently being investigated for its efficacy in cancer. This effect of metformin on cancer cell proliferation is primarily associated with the activation of AMPK, leading to the reduction in mTOR signaling and protein synthesis. In meta-analysis studies, it has been shown that the incidence of cancer is reduced in diabetic patients who have received metformin. There have been many studies evaluating the efficiency of metformin in some cancers such as breast, prostate, lung, endometrial, ovarian, and pancreatic cancer. Recent studies relating to the effects of metformin on colon cancer cell lines are remarkable. Ongoing studies have suggested that metformin could be an effective treatment regimen for colon cancer with conventional chemotherapy. Therefore, we aim to determine the effects of metformin alone and in combination with 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin on colon cancer cell line (HT-29) in this study. The effect of metformin on HT-29 cells for determine proliferation, cytotoxicity and apoptosis were investigated in experiments by using 3-(4,5- Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), lactate dehidrogenase (LDH), Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) and caspase-3 activity methods. In conclusion, the findings of our investigation revealed apoptotic effect of metformin increased on HT-29 cell line and the same effect was observed in combination with 5-fluoruuracil and oxaliplatin. Another finding of our study is this effect of metformin is dose-and time-dependent.