Assessment of Apoptotic Effect of Carbamazepine on Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cell Line (in vitro Study)

Background This study investigates the apoptotic and anti-cancerous effects of carbamazepine on the tongue squamous cell carcinoma (HNO-97) cell line. Methods The research compares carbamazepine-treated HNO-97 cells with untreated HNO-97 cells as a control. The Hematoxylin and Eosin staining method was used to observe cellular morphological changes. MTT assay was performed to assess cell viability. ELISA technique was done to measure reactive oxygen species and p53 upregulated modulator for investigating the drug apoptotic and potential anticancer effect. Results Thestudy findings indicate that carbamazepine reduces cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner via induction of apoptosis by increase production of reactive oxygen species and p53 upregulated modulator as they led finally to induction of apoptosis in oral cancer cells, which were confirmed by ELISA. Prominent cellular apoptotic signs were detected microscopically for the oral cancer cells in both early and late stages of apoptosis. Conclusion The study findings suggested the potent apoptotic and anti-cancerous effect of carbamazepine on oral squamous cell carcinoma cells through the activation of the caspase apoptotic pathway. This drug may serve as a promising adjuvant therapy for oral cancers.