Hiss, D.C.Abdul-Rasool, SaharAbrahams, Beynon2014-11-142024-11-042014-11-142024-11-042014https://hdl.handle.net/10566/17325Magister Scientiae (Medical Bioscience) - MSc(MBS)This study investigated the effects of TKIs on the growth and proliferation of MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells in culture. MCF-7 cells were exposed to different concentrations of TKIs alone and in combination with each other. Inhibition of cell growth by TKIs used individually occurred in a dose- and time-dependent manner. When EGFR Inhibitor I, EGFR Inhibitor II/BIBX1382 and the multi-specific EGFR/ErbB-2/ErB-4 Inhibitor were used in combination with each other at equimolar log dose concentrations, the combined effects on cell growth was significantly different to inhibitors used individually as reflected in a decreased EC50 (IC50) during combination treatments. Generally, for the combinations with DOX, CPL and the TKIs, synergistic as well as antagonistic effects were observed at isoeffective concentrations with resultant decreases in dose reduction indices (DRIs) implying greater efficacies with the respective combinations. In this study, conventional PCR was used to detect and illustrate the presence of the EGFR gene in the samples, while RT-qPCR was used to determine the mRNA expression levels of this gene in MCF-7 breast carcinoma cellsenBreast cancerHuman MCF-7 breast carcinoma cellsEpidermal growth factor receptorTyrosine kinase inhibitorsDoxorubicinCisplatinEGFR inhibitor IEGFR inhibitor II/BIBX1382EGFR/ErbB2/ErbB4 inhibitorDose-response curvesIC50/EC50Drug combination analysisSynergismAntagonismDose-reduction indicesHaematoxylin and eosin stainingAnnexin V-Cy3 fluorescent stainingApoptosisEGFR gene expression analysisReal-time qPCRThesisUniversity of the Western Cape