imatinib and its combination with 2,5-dimethyl-celecoxib induces apoptosis of human ht-29 colorectal cancer cells

mono-targeting by imatinib as a main antitumor agent does not always accomplish complete cancer suppression. 2,5-dimethyl-celecoxib (dmc) is a close structural analog of the selective cyclooxygenase-2 (cox-2) inhibitor, celecoxib, that lacks cox-2 inhibitory function. in this study, we aimed to show the apoptotic effects of imatinib in combination with dmc in human ht-29 colorectal cancer (crc) cells. ht-29 crc cells were treated with ic 50 dose of imatinib (6.60 µm), dmc (23.45 µm), and their combination (half dose of ic 50 ) for 24 h. the caspase-3 activity was estimated with colorimetric kit. the caspase-3 gene expression was evaluated by real-time pcr method. there was a significant up-regulation in caspase-3 enzyme activity and caspase-3 expression by imatinib and its half dose combination with dmc as compared to control. as a summary, the results of this study strongly suggest that half dose combination of imatinib with dmc induced apoptosis as potent as full dose imatinib in human ht-29 crc cells, while minimizing undesired side effects related to imatinib mono-therapy. this study also pointed towards possible caspase-dependent actions of imatinib and dmc.