growth inhibition and induction of apoptosis in k562 chronic myeloid leukaemia cells by the derivatives of dihydropyrano[c]chromenes family

background: recently, the anti cancer effect of chromene derivatives in different cell types has been reported. in this study, we report some derivatives of dihydropyrano[c]chromenes with growth inhibitory and apoptotic activity against k562, chronic myeloid leukaemia (cml). methods: the cells were seeded in 96-well plates at 1×105 cells/well and treated with different concentrations of the dihydropyrano[c]chromenes (4-pc, 4-cnc and 4-hc). growth inhibition and viability determined by trepan blue exclusion test. apoptosis was also detected by fluorescent microscopy and dna fragmentation assay. results: the 4-pc, 4-cnc and 4-hc inhibited growth and viability of the cells in dose- and time-dependent manner. these compounds were found to be highly active growth inhibitor with ic50 of 240, 180 and 160 μm, respectively. the results of acridine orange/ethidium bromide (ao/etbr) double staining also revealed that the compounds induced apoptosis at respective ic50 value after 72 h of treatment. conclusion: as the effect of growth inhibition and induction of apoptosis in k562 chronic myeloid leukaemia cells were observed, dihydropyrano[c]chromenes can be proposed as effective agents for more investigation in leukaemia treatment.