Soheila Sepahi - Department of Pharmacology, Isfahan Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Abbas Jafarian-Dehkordi - Department of Pharmacology, Isfahan Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Maryam Mirlohi - Food Security Research Centre, School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
kobra shirani - Department of Pharmacodynamy and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

Objective: Irinotecan is a botanical derivative and an anti-cancer drug with cytotoxic and genotoxic effects. The present study evaluated the effect of Lactobacillus plantarum A7 on the genotoxic activity of irinotecan in a hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2) by comet assay. Materials and Methods: HepG2 were incubated with irinotecan (100 µM), heat-killed cells (0.025 µg/ml) + irinotecan (100 µM), and cell-free supernatants (0.5 and 1 µg/ml) of L. plantarum A7 + irinotecan (100 µM). Phosphate buffered saline (PBS) was used as negative control. Results: Irinotecan was shown to induce DNA damage in HepG2 cells. The results showed that heat-killed cells (0.025 µg/ml) and cell-free supernatants (0.5 and 1 µg/ml) of L. plantarum significantly reduce irinotecan- induced DNA damage. Conclusion: Our results indicate that L. plantarum A7 can decrease the genotoxic effects of irinotecan in HepG2 cells, in vitro. This finding may be supportive for the optimization of therapeutic efficacy in irinotecan treatment.

Irinotecan, Lactobacillus plantarum A7, Anti-genotoxicity, HepG2, Comet assay