Objective:To investigate the therapeutic time window and the dose response effects of epirubicin on the expression of c-FLIP in breast cancer.
Methods :MCF-7and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells were divided into two groups: epirubicin groups were treated with 4.0,2.0,1.0,0.5 and 0.25mg/L of epirubicin, and control groups were treated with 0.9% sodium chloride solution at the same dose. After treatment for 24, 48 and 72 h, the incubated cells were collected for the measurement of c-FLIP by RT-PCR, and for examination of percent of apoptosis cells with flow cytometry.
Results:A dose-time-dependent pattern was observed. The expression of c-FLIP in MCF-7and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines declined gradually as the epirubicin concentration increased and treatment time was prolonged. Percentage of apoptosis breast cancer cells increased gradually as the epirubicin concentration was increased and treatment time was prolonged, and percentage of apoptosis cells was the highest when breast cancer cells were treated with 2 mg/L epirubicin for 72 h.
Conclusions:Epirubicin can promote apoptosis of breast cancer cells by inhibiting the expression of c-FLIP, and its inhibitory effect is most pronounced when breast cancer cells are treated with 2 mg/L epirubicin for 72 h.