Promotion of Autophagy and Apoptosis in Colorectal Cancer Exposed to Imatinib and Thymoquinone

Cancer cells possess high proliferative ability and usually override apoptosis and metastasize to distant lesions. Autophagy in cancer cells is a double-edged weapon where a cross-regulation postulation between apoptosis and autophagy exists. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of adding Thymoquinone (TQ) to Imatinib (IM) in HCT₁₁₆ human colorectal cancer cell line model on various apoptotic and autophagy markers. The combination doses of IM and TQ were selected according to our previous study concerned with cytotoxicity and uptake/efflux genes modulation. In the current study, the combination induced autophagy in HCT₁₁₆ cell line which in turn enhanced apoptosis. Moreover, early apoptosis was evidenced. The induction of both autophagy and apoptosis resulted in programmed cell death. The assessment of AMPK, Par-4, apoptosis markers, colony formation assays, flow cytometry and autophagy detection by acridine orange proved this rapport.