Effects of different concentrations of morphine in combination with 5-Fluouracil on the proliferation and apoptosis in MCF-7 breast cancer cells

Objective To investigate the effects of different concentrations of morphine in combination with 5-Fluouracil(5-FU) on the proliferation and apoptosis in MCF-7 breast cancer cells.Methods MTT was applied for evaluation of the proliferation inhibitive effects of morphine in combination with 5-FU 24 h,48 h and 72 h after incubation.Moreover,the apoptosis rate was evaluated with flow cytometry(FCM) 48 h after incubation.Results When using morphine alone,the IR of proliferation inhibitive effect was positively correlated with the concentration of morphine;whereas the proliferation was significantly inhibited by morphine of 250 and 1 250 μmol/L 24 h or 48 h after incubation,and also by morphine in all concentraions 72 h after incubation(P0.05).When using 5-FU alone,the proliferation was significantly inhibited by 5-FU in all concentrations 24 h,48 h or 72 h after incubation(P0.01).When using morphine combined with 5-FU,the IR was also positively correlated with the concentration of morphine;whereas significant synergy was observed 48 h or 72 h after incubation(P0.05).When using morphine alone,the apoptosis rate was positively correlated with the concentration of morphine,with significant difference revealed in 250 μmol/L and 1 250 μmol/L groups when comparing with controls(P0.01).When using 5-FU alone,the apoptosis rate was also significantly raised(P0.01).When using morphine combined with 5-FU,the apoptosis rate was also positively correlated with the concentration of morphine,whereas significant synergy was revealed(P0.05).Conclusion Morphine in certain concentration presents synergic effect in combination with 5-FU on anti-proliferation and apoptosis in MCF-7 breast cancer cells.