The Evaluation of the Effects of Temozolomide on MGMT Gene Expression in MCF-7 and SKBR3 Human Breast Cancer Cell Lines

Abstract

Background and Aim: In this study, it was aimed to examine the cytotoxic effect of temozolomide (TMZ) treatment, on MCF-7 and SKBR3 cell lines, to study the methylation levels of MGMT gene expression and gene promoter region. Methods: The MTT test was performed to determine the effective dose of TMZ. The time-dependent cell survival test was performed after the IC50 value was found. Western blotting was performed to determine MGMT gene expression levels. High Resolution Melting (HRM) technique was used to determine the methylation levels of MGMT gene promoter region. Results: TMZ has been shown to have a high cytotoxic effect on SKBR3 cell line and low cytotoxicity on MCF-7. When MGMT expression levels before and after TMZ treatment were observed by western blotting, the gene expression levels of TMZ treatment were shown to decrease in both cell lines. It was observed that MGMT gene promoter region was hypermethylated in two cell lines, and that the application of TMZ further increased the methylation levels in the promoter region. Conclusions: It was seen that TMZ could be used as a single agent in SKBR-3 cell line. With this study on breast cancer, it is expected that temozolomide treatment will lead future in vitro and in vivo studies for breast cancer.