Ultrastructural changes in tumor cells treated with liposomal forms of anticancer drugs

Abstract

Aim: To determine the main ultrastructural changes in MCF-7 sublines sensitive and resistant to cytotoxic action of anticancer drugs, resulting from the treatment with conventional and liposomal forms of cisplatin and doxorubicin. Methods: Electron microscopy, light microscopy, MTT-test. Results: It has been shown that the phenomenon of drug resistance is associated with complication of ultrastructural organization of cells and more high differentiation by the main cytomorphologic characteristics which promote their resistance to cytotoxic action of anticancer preparations. Cytoarchitectonics of all resistant cells possesses common patterns and doesn’t depend on the particular drugs toward which the resistance has been developed. It has been shown that the cells of the parental form MCF-7 line are more sensitive to cytotoxic action of doxorubicin than to cisplatin. Liposomal forms of anticancer drugs used at the same concentrations that the conventional ones, especially that of doxorubicin, caused more expressed alterations in ultrastructural organization of cells of all studied sublines with dominance of apoptotic processes. Conclusion: Evaluating an effect of equal concentrations of cisplatin and doxorubicin in conventional and liposomal forms, one may conclude on higher cytotoxic action of doxorubicin vs. cisplatin that is expressed in a wider spectrum of ultrastructural changes of cell architectonics in different sublines of MCF-7 cells and higher rate of apoptosis.