Dandelion Root Extract Sensitizes Leukemia Cells to VP-16 Induced Cell Death

Type of Proposal

Visual Presentation (Poster, Installation, Demonstration)

Faculty

Faculty of Science

Faculty Sponsor

Siyaram Pandey

Proposal

Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML) is a form of cancer that arises due to a mutation in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow. The resistant nature of CMML makes it difficult to classify, diagnose, and treat, implying an urgent need to develop an effective therapy to counteract the effects of the disease. Unfortunately, the current treatments available are highly invasive and have significant side effects, including the possibility of the cancer reoccurring or the patient developing early resistance to the treatment. The use of natural products has been a source of nutrition and therapy for many centuries and could potentially direct scientists towards improving the success rate of most conventional treatments. Previous work has evaluated the dandelion root extract’s (DRE) selective efficacy in inducing programmed cell death in aggressive and resistant CMML lines (Ovadje, 2012). In this study, we wanted to evaluate the role of DRE as an adjuvant therapy, where it can sensitize CMML cells to sub-lethal doses of Etoposide (VP-16), a toxic chemotherapeutic drug, and evaluating DRE’s potential synergistic, additive, or subtractive effect towards VP-16 induced cell death in CMML models. Our findings show that prior treatment with DRE, followed by VP-16, led to a decrease in cell proliferation, disruption of the mitochondrial membrane potential, production of reactive oxygen species and ultimately cell death induction, at a greater rate than either drug alone. Future studies will focus on the mechanism by which DRE can sensitize MV-4-11 cells to VP-16, while using animal models to confirm this efficacy. This will provide us with a better understanding of how effective this therapeutic option would be in clinical trials. Overall, this study has the potential to reduce the dose of chemotherapy administered to patients, thereby decreasing the side effects and overall improving the quality of life of cancer patients.

Start Date

31-3-2017 1:00 PM

End Date

31-3-2017 2:00 PM

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Mar 31st, 1:00 PM Mar 31st, 2:00 PM

Dandelion Root Extract Sensitizes Leukemia Cells to VP-16 Induced Cell Death

Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML) is a form of cancer that arises due to a mutation in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow. The resistant nature of CMML makes it difficult to classify, diagnose, and treat, implying an urgent need to develop an effective therapy to counteract the effects of the disease. Unfortunately, the current treatments available are highly invasive and have significant side effects, including the possibility of the cancer reoccurring or the patient developing early resistance to the treatment. The use of natural products has been a source of nutrition and therapy for many centuries and could potentially direct scientists towards improving the success rate of most conventional treatments. Previous work has evaluated the dandelion root extract’s (DRE) selective efficacy in inducing programmed cell death in aggressive and resistant CMML lines (Ovadje, 2012). In this study, we wanted to evaluate the role of DRE as an adjuvant therapy, where it can sensitize CMML cells to sub-lethal doses of Etoposide (VP-16), a toxic chemotherapeutic drug, and evaluating DRE’s potential synergistic, additive, or subtractive effect towards VP-16 induced cell death in CMML models. Our findings show that prior treatment with DRE, followed by VP-16, led to a decrease in cell proliferation, disruption of the mitochondrial membrane potential, production of reactive oxygen species and ultimately cell death induction, at a greater rate than either drug alone. Future studies will focus on the mechanism by which DRE can sensitize MV-4-11 cells to VP-16, while using animal models to confirm this efficacy. This will provide us with a better understanding of how effective this therapeutic option would be in clinical trials. Overall, this study has the potential to reduce the dose of chemotherapy administered to patients, thereby decreasing the side effects and overall improving the quality of life of cancer patients.