Efficacy of Prunus armenica, Bee venom, and their combinations on p53 and Bcl-2 gene expression in human pancreatic and lung cancer cells

Abstract

Malignancies are one of the world’s most serious health problems. Pancreatic and lung cancers are two of the most lethal types of cancer, with 5-year survival rates ranging from 10 to 20%. Despite decades of investigation, the molecular processes and selectivity of Prunus armenica and Bee venom as anticancer drugs are still largely un-understood. The goal of our study is to determine the expression levels ofp53 and Bcl-2 mRNAs obtained from human pancreatic (PANC-1) and lung (A549) cancer cells treated with Prunus armenica, Bee venom or their combinations by using MTT and real time PCR assays. We showed that in a concentration-dependent manner of Prunus armeniaca, bee venom, and a combination of both, the cell growth was significantly decreased. Our findings also revealed an adverse association between tumor suppressor (p53) and proto-oncogene (Bcl-2) gene expression in both cancer cells treated with diverse substances vs untreated. As a consequence, the tested compounds dramatically alter p53 and Bcl-2 gene expression, suggesting that they might be useful in the prevention or treatment of pancreatic and lung cancers.