Crocin, one of the main constituents of saffron extract, has numerous biological effects such as
anti-cancer effects. multidrug resistance-associated proteins 1 and 2 (mrp1 and mrp2) are important elements in
the failure of cancer chemotherapy. in this study we aimed to evaluate the effects of crocin on mrp1 and mrp2
expression and function in human ovarian cancer cell line a2780 and its cisplatin-resistant derivative a2780/rcis cells.
Methods
Materials included ,fetal bovine serum (fbs) and rpmi 1640 with l-glutamine . mtt, dmso, trypan blue, doxorubicin and penicillin g/streptomycin. . crocin, rna tripure isolation kit and real-time express one-step sybr greener™ kit . the mrp-overexpressing, cisplatinresistant ovarian cancer cell line, a2780/rcis and its parental cisplatin sensitive cell line a2780 .the cytotoxicity of crocin was assessed by the mtt assay. the effects of crocin on the mrp1 and mrp2
mrna expression and function were assessed by real-time rt-pcr and mtt assays, respectively.
Results
Our study indicated that crocin reduced cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner in which the
reduction in proliferation rate was more noticeable in the a2780 cell line compared to a2780/rcis. crocin
reduced mrp1 and mrp2 gene expression at the mrna level in a2780/rcis cells. it increased doxorubicin
cytotoxicity on the resistant a2780/rcis cells in comparison with the drug-sensitive a2780 cells.
Conclusion
Totally, these results indicated that crocin could suppress drug resistance via down regulation
of mrp transporters in the human ovarian cancer resistant cell line.
