Amelioration of cytotoxic effects of idarubicin and 4HC on Chang liver cells by a novel grape seed proanthocyanidin extract

Despite anticancer chemotherapeutic agents are very effective in inhibiting growth of cancer cells in vitro and in vivo, toxicity to normal cells is a major problem. In an attempt to ameliorate the toxic effects in this study we have used a novel grape seed proanthocyanidin extract (GSPE) generously provided by InterHealth Nutritionals, Concord, CA. Chang liver cells, established from non-malignant human tissue, were treated in vitro with idarubicin (30 nM) and 4- hydroxyperoxycyclophosphamide (4HC) (1 μg/ml) with or without GSPE (25 μg/ml). The cells were grown in vitro and the growth rate of the cells were determined using MTT assay. Our results showed that the GSPE decreased growth inhibitory effects of idarubicin and 4HC on Chang liver cells in vitro. Since these chemotherapeutic agents are known to induce apoptosis in the target cells, we also looked for the expression of one of the apoptosis related gene bcl2 in the treated and control cells using Western blotting techniques. There was an increased expression of bcl2 in the cells treated with GSPE. Thus, these results indicate that GSPE can be a potential candidate to ameliorate the toxic effects associated with chemotherapeutic agents.