<i>In vitro</i> anti-cancer potentiality of quince and dandelion leaves extract against leukemia cell lines and database retrieval expression of <i>BCR ABL</i> and <i>TCR</i> genes in leukemia

Introduction: Plants were used in medicine to treat various diseases long ago, but data on aqueous extracts of quince and dandelion are currently very limited. Objectives: In vitro cytotoxic impacts of aqueous quince and dandelion leaf extracts on leukemia cell lines (Jurkat and K562) were investigated. In addition, the average levels of BCR, ABL and TCR gene expression were studied. Materials and Methods: In current in vitro experimental study, quince and dandelion leaves were extracted via aqueous extraction. Stock extracts (50 mg/mL) were prepared by dissolving 50 mg of aqueous extracts in 1 mL of 10% DMSO and filtering them. Two doses (0.5 and 5 mg/mL) of each extract were subsequently used to determine its cytotoxicity to Jurkat and K562 cells via flow cytometry in vitro killing assay. For genetic studies, the expression levels of the BCR, ABL and TCR genes were retrieved from the gene expression database of normal and tumor tissues 2 (GENT2). Results: The number of killed cells significantly increased when Jurkat and K562 cells were treated with 5 mg/mL dose of quince and dandelion leaf extracts. In the genetic study, the average expression level of BCR ABL was significantly greater in blood samples from patients with cancer than in those from healthy controls. However, TCR expression did not significantly differ. Conclusion: These results highlight the cytotoxicity of both leaf extracts, mainly dandelion, to leukemic cells. Additionally, the expression of BCR ABL in blood cancer should be emphasized.