| Title |
Combinatorial effects of thymoquinone on the anti-cancer activity of doxorubicin
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology, June 2010
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s00280-010-1386-x |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Katharina Effenberger-Neidnicht, Rainer Schobert |
| Abstract |
Doxorubicin is a mainstay of cancer chemotherapy despite its clinical limitations that arise from its cardiotoxicity and the high incidence of multi-drug resistance. Recent studies revealed a protective effect of thymoquinone, a non-toxic constituent of the essential oil of Nigella sativa, against doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity. We now investigated the influence of thymoquinone on various other effects exerted by doxorubicin in human cancer cells. Doxorubicin, thymoquinone and equimolar mixtures of both were tested for cytotoxicity on human cells of HL-60 leukaemia, 518A2 melanoma, HT-29 colon, KB-V1 cervix, and MCF-7 breast carcinomas as well as multi-drug-resistant variants thereof and on non-malignant human fibroblasts (HF). Apoptosis induction was analysed via DNA fragmentation, activity studies of the caspases-3, -8 and -9, determination of changes in the mitochondrial membrane potential and in the ratio of the mRNA expressions of pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins bax and bcl-2. The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was assessed by the NBT assay. Thymoquinone improved the anti-cancer properties of doxorubicin in a cell line-specific manner. We found a significant rise of the growth inhibition by doxorubicin in HL-60 and multi-drug-resistant MCF-7/TOPO cells when thymoquinone had been added. The mode of action of both drugs and of their mixture was mainly apoptotic. In HL-60 cells, the drug mixture caused an additional concentration maximum of effector caspase-3 not observed for either of the pure drugs. The impact of the drug mixture on the mitochondria of HL-60 cells was also greater than those of the individual quinones alone. In addition, the drug mixture led to a higher concentration of reactive oxygen species in HL-60 cells. In summary, thymoquinone is a booster for the anti-cancer effect of doxorubicin in certain cancer cell lines. Distinct improvements on efficacy, selectivity, and even breaches of multi-drug resistance were observed for equimolar mixtures of doxorubicin and thymoquinone. |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 98 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Austria | 1 | 1% |
| New Zealand | 1 | 1% |
| Egypt | 1 | 1% |
| China | 1 | 1% |
| Poland | 1 | 1% |
| Unknown | 93 | 95% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Master | 18 | 18% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 15 | 15% |
| Researcher | 13 | 13% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 6 | 6% |
| Student > Bachelor | 6 | 6% |
| Other | 14 | 14% |
| Unknown | 26 | 27% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 16 | 16% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 16 | 16% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 13 | 13% |
| Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science | 7 | 7% |
| Chemistry | 5 | 5% |
| Other | 10 | 10% |
| Unknown | 31 | 32% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 22 May 2017.
All research outputs
#21,164,509
of 23,815,455 outputs
Outputs from Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology
#2,211
of 2,501 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#91,432
of 95,894 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology
#20
of 20 outputs
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So far Altmetric has tracked 2,501 research outputs from this source. They receive a mean Attention Score of 4.1. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 20 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.