Background: Octocrylene (OCT) is one of the most widespread chemical UV filters used in sunscreens and cosmetic products. Despite the use of sunscreens and personal care products over decades, melanoma as the most serious and aggressive form of skin cancer is still a cause of concern. Hence the aim of this study was to investigate any potential influence of OCT on metabolic activity, cytotoxicity and ABCB5 mRNA expression in melanoma cells. The ABCB5 transmembrane protein was tested due to its well-known role in the initiation, invasion and metastatic spread of various cancers, including melanoma.
Methods: Metastatic melanoma cell line WM-266-4 (ATCC) was incubated with selected concentrations of OCT and for different time intervals. The MTT and LDH assays to measure the cells' metabolic activity and cytotoxicity were used respectively. Target gene (ABCB5) expression was detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), using TaqMan® chemistry.
Results: Our results suggest decreased metastatic melanoma cells' metabolic activity, increased cytotoxicity and increased ABCB5 mRNA expression (P<0.05) with longer time of exposure to OCT as compared to control cells. Accordingly, we suspect that the surviving cells are more invasive and aggressive, which might explain their microscopically observed cannibalistic activity.
Conclusions: With this study, we elucidate a new promising field for further research to contribute to etiology and prevention of melanoma.