TY - JOUR T1 - Synergistic Effect of Apigenin and Curcumin on Apoptosis, Paraptosis and Autophagy-related Cell Death in HeLa Cells JF - Anticancer Research JO - Anticancer Res SP - 1271 LP - 1282 DO - 10.21873/anticanres.14884 VL - 41 IS - 3 AU - SERA KAYACAN AU - KAAN YILANCIOGLU AU - AYSE SEDA AKDEMIR AU - FATMA KAYA-DAGISTANLI AU - GULAY MELIKOGLU AU - MELEK OZTURK Y1 - 2021/03/01 UR - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/41/3/1271.abstract N2 - Background/Aim: We aimed to investigate the synergistic effects of apigenin and curcumin on the cross-talk between apoptosis and autophagic cell death, as well as on paraptosis in HeLa cells. Materials and Methods: Cell viability was measured using the MTT assay. Synergistic effects were measured using the Bliss independence model. qRT-PCR was used to study the expression of genes related to apoptosis, autophagic cell death, and cross-talk. GRP78/BiP immunostaining was used to identify endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Results: Treatment with a combination of apigenin and curcumin increased the expression levels of genes related to cell death in HeLa cells 1.29- to 27.6-fold. The combination of curcumin and apigenin showed a synergistic anti-tumor effect via cross-talk between processes leading to apoptosis and autophagic cell death, as well as ER stress-associated paraptosis. GRP78 expression was down-regulated, and massive cytoplasmic vacuolization was observed in HeLa cells. Conclusion: The combination of curcumin and apigenin is an effective potential therapeutic for cervical cancers. ER -