Cyanidin-3-Glucoside Induces Apoptosis in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells in Lower Dose Compared to Cisplatin

Background and Objective: Breast cancer is the major cause of death from cancer among women around the world. Given the drug resistance created in the treatment of this disease, it is very important to identify new therapies and new anticancer drugs. Some studies indicate the cytotoxic effects of cyanidin-3-glucoside (C3G) as the anthocyanin component of many herbs. Also, evidence indicate that C3G could serve as natural antioxidant as the well as promote repair mechanisms against DNA damages. However, its apoptotic on breast cancer cell line was not investigated. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the anticancer effect of C3G in the treatment of MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, the MCF-7 cell line was treated with different concentrations of C3G and cisplatin (as controls) for 24 and 48 hours. Measurement of cell death was performed by MTT assay. The cell apoptosis rate was measured using Annexin V / Propidium Iodide Assay through flow cytometry. Also, to further confirm that C3G treatment induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells, the RNA expression of bax, bcl2, and p53 genes was investigated after treatment by using real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). All statistical analysis performed by SPSS 16 software by using ANOVA, Bonferroni’s test, and student t-tests. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered as significant level. Findings: The MTT assay showed that LD50 dose of C3G for 24 and 48 hours was 110 μg/ml and 60μg/ml, respectively. Its results in same time for the cisplatin was 175 μg/ml and 80 μg/ml that indicate the significant differences (P=0.023 vs. P=0.001). Annexin V/PI flow cytometry results confirmed that 51% and 44% apoptosis for C3G and cisplatin, respectively (P=0.001). In addition, Real-time PCR indicated that the expression of bax and p53 markedly increased (P=0.03), whereas the expression of bcl2 decreased (P=0.002). Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated that C3G has apoptotic and cytotoxic effects more than cisplatin on cancer cells of MCF-7. Therefore, it is likely that this substance can be a suitable option for an anticancer drug.

Keywords:

Cyanidin-3-Glucoside , Breast Cancer , Cisplatin , Apoptosis