Potential of four marine-derived fungi extracts as anti-proliferative and cell death-inducing agents in seven human cancer cell lines

Alice Abreu Ramos; Maria Prata-Sena; Bruno Castro-Carvalho; Tida Dethoup; Suradet Buttachon; Anake Kijjoa; Eduardo Rocha

doi:10.1016/j.apjtm.2015.09.005

Potential of four marine-derived fungi extracts as anti-proliferative and cell death-inducing agents in seven human cancer cell lines

Asian Pac J Trop Med. 2015 Oct;8(10):798-806. doi: 10.1016/j.apjtm.2015.09.005. Epub 2015 Sep 25.

Authors

Alice Abreu Ramos¹, Maria Prata-Sena², Bruno Castro-Carvalho², Tida Dethoup³, Suradet Buttachon², Anake Kijjoa², Eduardo Rocha⁴

Affiliations

¹ Interdisciplinary Center for Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), CIMAR Associate Laboratory (CIMAR LA), University of Porto (U. Porto), Rua dos Bragas, nº 289, 4050-123 Porto, Portugal.
² Interdisciplinary Center for Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), CIMAR Associate Laboratory (CIMAR LA), University of Porto (U. Porto), Rua dos Bragas, nº 289, 4050-123 Porto, Portugal; ICBAS - Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar, University of Porto (U. Porto), Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, nº 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal.
³ Department of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
⁴ Interdisciplinary Center for Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), CIMAR Associate Laboratory (CIMAR LA), University of Porto (U. Porto), Rua dos Bragas, nº 289, 4050-123 Porto, Portugal; ICBAS - Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar, University of Porto (U. Porto), Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, nº 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: erocha@icbas.up.pt.

PMID: 26522294
DOI: 10.1016/j.apjtm.2015.09.005

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the in vitro anticancer activity of crude ethyl acetate extracts of the culture of four marine-derived fungi Aspergillus similanensis KUFA 0013 (E1), Neosartorya paulistensis KUFC 7897 (E2), Neosartorya siamensis KUFA 0017 (E4) and Talaromyces trachyspermus KUFC 0021 (E3) on a panel of seven human cancer cell lines.

Methods: Effects on cell proliferation, induction of DNA damage and cell death were assessed by MTT and clonogenic assays, comet assay and nuclear condensation assay, respectively.

Results: The proliferation of HepG2, HCT116 and A375 cells decreased after incubation with the extracts E2 and E4. The anti-proliferative effect was confirmed by morphologic alterations and by clonogenic assay. Both extracts also induced cell death in HepG2 and HCT116 cells. Doxorubicin was used as a positive control and showed in vitro anticancer activity.

Conclusions: This study demonstrated, for the first time, that extracts of Neosartorya paulistensis and Neosartorya siamensis have selective anti-proliferative and cell death activities in HepG2, HCT16 and A375 cells. The bioactivity of these extracts suggests a potential for biotechnological applications and substantiates that both should be further considered for the elucidation of the molecular targets and signal transduction pathways involved.

Keywords: Anti-proliferative activity; Antineoplastic agents; Cell death; Cytotoxicity; Human cancer cell lines; Marine-derived fungi.