The Dual Influence of Adrenaline may be Effective in the Treatment of Grade 3 and 4 Cancers with a Synergistic Effect with Chemotherapy

Objective(s): The present study investigated the impact of physiological and pharmacological concentrations of epinephrine alone and together with a β-adrenergic receptor antagonist (propranolol) on the proliferation/migration rate, substrate-adhesion ability, and viability of two slowing-growing brain glioblastoma (U87) and fast-growing gastric adenocarcinoma (AGS) cell lines. Materials and Methods: The cells were treated with epinephrine in a 16 µM (physiological) – 256 µM (pharmacological) concentration range and combined with 75 µM propranolol. The cell proliferation/migration rate was determined using scratch wound healing assay at 12 h and 24 h post-treatment. The substrate-adhesion ability was examined using a plate-and-wash assay after detaching the cells with EDTA/trypsin solution and incubating the cells with the drug treatments for 15 and 30 min. The cell viability was assessed using the trypan blue dye exclusion method with hemocytomer count. Results : The results showed that epinephrine had a dual effect; enhancing the proliferation/migration, adhesion, and viability of both cells at physiological concentrations while suppressing the mentioned features at pharmacological concentrations. Propranolol served antagonistic activity, especially at the low doses of epinephrine. Conclusion : The study suggests that combination therapy with epinephrine and propranolol can shift the cancer cell growth and metastasis-promoting features of epinephrine toward cancer cell eradication for both slowing-growing U87 and Fast-growing AGS cells.