The K562 Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia Cell Line undergoes Apoptosis in Response to 4-chloro-5-iodo-7H-pyrrolo[2.3-d]pyrimidine

Background & Aims: Leukemia is a particular type of cancer characterized by the failure of cell death or disability in the differentiation
of hematopoietic cells. Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is the most studied kind of this type of cancer. In this study, the anticancer
effect of the 4-chloro-5-iodo-7H-pyrrolo[2.3-d]pyrimidine compound on the human leukemia K562 cells was investigated.
Materials & Methods: The K562 cell line was cultured by initially seeding 1×106 cells per milliliter in RPMI 1640 medium. Cell
viability was investigated using trypan blue exclusion and MTT assays. Cell death in cancer and normal cells was quantified using
propidium iodide (PI) and acridine orange (AO) double staining. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the SPSS16 and
Excel softwares were used for data analysis. Data were analyzed statistically using the SPSS16 software. A probability level of p<0.05
was considered as the statistically significant reference.
Result: The 4-chloro-5-iodo-7H-pyrrolo[2.3-d]pyrimidine compound had a strong fatal and concentration-dependent effect on K562
cells and caused cell death mainly through induction of apoptosis. Statistical analysis of the cells under a fluorescence microscope
revealed significant differences in apoptotic cell populations between treated and untreated cells.
Conclusions: The results of this investigation indicated that the 4-chloro-5-iodo-7H-pyrrolo[2.3-d]pyrimidine compound does have
cytotoxic effects on the K562 cell line. This information also revealed that this compound may initiate a new therapeutic standpoint
for the treatment of leukemia.