Effects of doxorubicin and apigenin on chronic myeloid leukemia cells (K562) in vitro : anti-proliferative and apoptosis induction assessments.

In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of the co-treatment with apigenin and doxorubicin (DOX) on K562 cells. Our results show that apigenin (0, 40, 60, 80 ,100 µM) and DOX (0-10 µM) as single therapy, could decrease K562 cell viability (after 24 h of treatment) in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, the co-treatment with apigenin (60, 80 µM) and 10 µM of DOX led to a greater reduction in cell growth (CI: 0.92 and 0.97) after 24 h of treatment compared to the single DOX treatment ( p  < 0.05). Consequently, apigenin and DOX, either as single or as co-treatment (24 h of treatment), were indicated to induce apoptosis in K562 cells through morphological studies, RT-qPCR, and western-blot analysis. Eventually, the expressions of Caspase 3, 6, 7, and 9 genes in the single treatment with DOX had higher alteration compared to the co-treatment with DOX and apigenin ( p  < 0.05).