- Journal
- GENE REPORTS
- Année
- 2021
- Volume
- 22
- Article
- 100972
- Mois
- MAR
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.genrep.2020.100972
Abstract
Background: We investigated the effect of C. colocynthis extract and phycocyanin on the growth of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells, and assessed the expression of caspase 3 and Bax encoding genes. Methods: WiDr, HCT-116 and HCT-15 CRC cells were treated with various concentrations of C. colocynthis and phycocyanin extracts for 24, 48 & 72 h. The cell cytotoxicity was measured by MTT assay. Expression of Caspase 3 and Bax genes was evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR). Results: The combination of extract + phycocyanin as well as C. colocynthis singly unraveled higher inhibitory effects against cancer cells compared to phycocyanin and control. The IC50 values for phycocyanin and the extract + phycocyanin included 6.2 0.86 and 3.8 +/- 1.06 mu g/mu L against ViDr, 6.90 +/- 1.11 and 5.87 +/- 3.43, respectively. Their cytotoxicity was low against normal cells. The expression of Bax gene was significantly increased in exposure of extract + phycocyanin and also C. colocynthis extract treatment. In addition, the combination of extract + phycocyanin and C. colocynthis extract significantly increased the expression of caspase 3 gene in CRC cell lines. Conclusion: C. colocynthis extract, as well as the combination of extract + phycocyanin increased the expression of Bax and caspase 3 genes, indicating intervention in the apoptosis in cancer cells. Although the expression of Bax and Caspase 3 is a major anticancer mechanism of extract and phycocyanin, this finding and other mechanisms require further investigations.