Synergistic effects of paclitaxel/aloe-emodin combination in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines

Cancer is a group of diseases with different clinical manifestations and treatments, which occur as a result of the uncontrolled proliferation of cells. Breast cancer ranks second in cancer-related deaths after lung cancer. There has been an increasing interest in natural and herbal alternatives in recent years due to the high cost and worrying side effects of methods used in cancer treatment. Studies for cancer treatment are generally based on drug discoveries from herbal molecules. From this point of view, in this thesis study, the synergistic, cytotoxic, and apoptotic effects of aloe-emodin and paclitaxel on estrogen receptor (+) and estrogen receptor (-) human breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) were investigated. The effect of the combination treatment of aloe-emodin, a herbal anthraquinone derivative, with paclitaxel on the viability of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells was determined by MTT and Neutral Red methods, and it was found that it led to statistically significant decreases in cell viability. Cell death by apoptotic ways was demonstrated by annexin V, total caspase activity, and cell cycle analysis. Analysis of the calculated combination index values revealed that the combination of the substance showed a synergistic effect on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cancer cells. Keywords: Aloe-emodin, Breast cancer, Cytotoxicity, Paclitaxel, Synergistic effect