Carotenoid pigment of Halophilic archaeon Haloarcula sp. A15 induces apoptosis of breast cancer cells. (27th February 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Shahbazi, Saghar; Zargar, Mohsen; Zolfaghari, Mohammad Reza; Amoozegar, Mohammad Ali
• Is Part Of: Cell biochemistry and function. Volume 41:Number 3(2023)
• Page Start: 344
• Page End: 354
• Publication Date: 2023-02-27
• Subjects: apoptosis -- breast cancer -- carotenoids -- cell cycle -- Halophilic archaea -- MCF‐7 cell line; Cytochemistry -- Periodicals; Cell metabolism -- Periodicals; Biochemistry -- Periodicals; Cytology -- Periodicals; 572
• DOI: 10.1002/cbf.3786
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0263-6484

Abstract

Abstract: The halophilic microorganisms living in extreme environments contain high concentrations of carotenoids with notable medical abilities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the anticancer effect of carotenoids extracted from native Iranian halophilic microorganisms with the ability to inhibit breast cancer cell line. To begin the study, 40 halophilic strains were cultured, and 8 strains capable of producing pigmented colonies were chosen from those cultured strains. In the next step, from among 8 strains using MTT assay, 1 capable of reducing cell viability of the breast cancer MCF‐7 cell line was chosen as a selective strain. The principal carotenoid was characterized using UV‐visible, FT‐IR spectroscopic, and LC‐MASS analyses. Using real time PCR technique, the expression of genes specific for apoptosis, in the presence or absence of carotenoid, was examined. Among all strains, carotenoid extracted from strain A15 had the most potent cytotoxic effect on breast cancer cell line (IC50 = 0.0645 mg/mL). 16S rRNA gene analysis showed that strain A15 had similarity with Haloarcula hispanica for about 99.5%. According to the analysis results, it could be estimated that the principal carotenoid extracted form Haloarcula sp. A15 was similar to bacterioruberin. Both early and late apoptosis were increased significantly about 10% and 39%, respectively, due to upregulation of CASP3, CASP8, BAX genes expression in MCF‐7 cell line. In contrast, the expression of genes MKI67, SOX2 were significantly downregulated in treated MCF‐7 cell line. The results of this study showed that Halophilic archaeon strain could be a good candidate for the production of high added‐value bacterioruberin due to its possible anticancer properties. Significance statement: The results of the present study showed that the pigment obtained from A Haloarcula sp. A15 present in native saline environments of Iran increases the expression of apoptotic genes in the MCF‐7 cell model of breast cancer. The results of this research may provide a target for elucidating the possible activity of the cytotoxic, antiproliferative, and apoptosis‐inducing pigment extracted from archaea halophile in MCF‐7 cell line in breast cancer treatment. Therefore, it is assumed that it is possible to introduce this compound (pigment), after further research, as a new anticancer raw material with natural origin in medicine. The proposed study design divulges the importance of investigating of apoptotic genes expressions to find better therapeutic options to combat breast cancer.