Survivin is a new member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) family, selectively over-expressed in common human cancers but not in normal adult tissues. It is also expressed in cancer cell lines. Chemotherapeutic drugs exert adverse effects on cell survival.
This work aimed to study the effects of doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil, cyclophosphamide, and tamoxifen on cell viability, apoptosis, and survivin expression in the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7. After 72 hours incubation, inhibition of MCF-7 growth induced by different concentrations of doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil, cyclophosphamide, and tamoxifen was evaluated by MTT assay, while alteration of survivin expression and subcellular distribution was evaluated by immunocytochemistry. Apoptosis was detected by propidium iodide/acridine orange dyes. The cell viability was reduced in a dose-dependent pattern when incubated with the drugs. It was found that most of the MCF-7 cells expressed survivin, predominantly in the cyctoplasm. The percentages of apoptotic cells were increased with the increased concentrations of the drugs.