Objective: To investigate the reversal effect of O-(4-ethoxyl-butyl)-berbamine (EBB) on multidrug resistance (MDR) in MCF-7/ADR cell.
Methods: 3-(4, 5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2, 5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to assess the antitumor effect of EBB and determine the reversal effects of different concentrations ( < or = IC20) of EBB on MCF-7/ADR cell. Flow cytometry was applied to observe the intracellular accumulation of Rh123 and cell cycle in the presence of EBB. The expressions of MDR-related genes mdr 1 and topoisomerase II b (top II b) were evaluated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.
Results: The sensitivity of MCF-7/ADR to adriamycin (ADR) was enhanced up to 50. 40, 89.80, and 14.88 folds after exposure of the cells to 3 micromol/L EBB, 7.5 micromol/L EBB, and 10 micromol/L verapamil (VPL), respectively. After 2 hours of incubation with 6 micromol/L EBB, intracellular Rh123 accumulation in MCF-7/ADR cells was increased to the level comparable to that in MCF-7 cells. When 6 micromol/L EBB was added together with 2 micromol/L ADR, MCF-7/ ADR cells showed to be arrested in the G2/M phase. The declination of mdr 1 gene expression was observed when 6 micromol/L EBB, 12 micromol/L EBB, and 10 micromol/L VPL were added for 48 hours; meanwhile, the expression of top II b mRNA showed no significant change.
Conclusion: EBB has a strong reversal effect on MDR in MCF-7/ ADR cell, which may be achieved by enhancing the arrestment of MCF-7/ADR cells at G2/M phase and increasing intracellular drug concentration.