evaluation of the cytotoxic effect of the brittle star (ophiocomaerinaceus) dichloromethane extract and doxorubicin on el4 cell line

leukemia is a blood disease which is caused by the inhibition of differentiation and an increased proliferation rate. nature has been known as a rich source of medically useful substances. high diversity of bioactive molecules extracted from marine invertebrates, makes them ideal candidates for cancer researches. the study has been done to investigate cytotoxic effects of dichloromethane brittle star extract and doxorubicin on el4 cancer cells. blood cancer el4 cells were cultured and treated by different concentrations of brittle star dichloromethane extract for 24, 48 and 72 h. cell toxicity was studied using the mtt assay. cell morphology was examined using an invert microscope. further, apoptosis was examined using annexin v-fitc, propodium iodide, dapi and acridine orange / propodium iodide staining. eventually, the apoptosis pathways were analyzed using measurement of caspase-3 and -9 activities. the statistical analysis was performed using spss software, anova test, tukey post test. p