In vitro and in silico studies on the anticancer and apoptosis-inducing activities of the sterols identified from the soft coral, subergorgia reticulata

Abstract

Background:Gorgonians and other octocorals are known to possess a huge array of secondary metabolites in which sterols are the major group of secondary metabolites apart from sesquiterpenes and diterpenes, and the bioactive metabolites could show marked biomedical potential for future drug discovery.Objective:This study was intended for the isolation and identification of sterols from the octocoral Subergorgia reticulata and to evaluate the anticancer and apoptosis-inducing activities of the identified sterols through in vitro and in silico approach.Materials and Methods:The organism was collected from Lakshadweep Island. The isolated sterols were identified using Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The structure was confirmed by using comparison of their spectra those in National Institute of Standard Technology (NIST) library. The apoptosis inducing effect of identified sterols were determined by PASS online prediction. In vitro cytotoxity studies were carried out using Dalton's lymphoma ascites cells (DLA) and the cell viability was determined by trypan blue exclusion method.Results:Six sterols were identified from the soft coral S. reticulata. They are Cholesta-5,22-diene-3ol (3β), Ergosta-5-22-dien-3ol (3β,22E 24S), Cholesterol, 26,26-Dimethyl-5,24(28)-ergostadien-3β-ol. β-sitosterol, and Fucosterol. In silico predictions showed that the identified sterols exhibited remarkable apoptosis agonist activity. The probability of apoptosis agonist activity were found maximum for 26,26-Dimethyl-5,24 (28)-S. reticulata sterol fractions isolated were found to be having anticancer activity.Conclusions:These findings suggest that S. reticulata contained biologically active sterol compounds that may be useful in the treatment of cancer.

Apoptotic and antiproliferative properties of 3β‐hydroxy‐Δ5‐steroidal congeners from a partially purified column fraction of Dendronephthya gigantea against HL‐60 and MCF‐7 cancer cells

“…We were able to find several previous studies that discussed the anticancer potential of the compounds reported in the percentage study. Cholesta-5,22diene-3-ol, ergosta-5-22-dien-3-ol and cholest-5-en-3-ol, all isolated from the soft coral Subergorgia reticulate, have been reported to possess moderate anticancer potentials based on cytotoxicity studies in Dalton's lymphoma ascite cells (Byju, Anuradha, Vasundhara, Nair, & Kumar, 2014). Stigmasta-5,24(28)-dien-3-ol, isolated from Sargassum angustifolium has been reported to have potential anticancer activity in T47D and HT29 carcinoma cells with IC 50 values of 27.94 ± 9.3 and 70.41 ± 7.5 μg ml -1 respectively (Khanavi et al, 2012).…”

Screening for Anti-Cancer Compounds in Marine Organisms in Oman

“…The anti-cancer activity of soft coral extracts has been previously reported. 34,35 For example, diterpenes from the soft coral Xenia elongata were found to induce apoptosis in a genetically engineered mouse cell line which was D3-deficient in the BAK1 and BAX genes. 35 The preliminary results of the current study therefore indicate the potential benefit of Sarcophyton sp.…”

Studies on the red sea sponge Haliclona sp. for its chemical and cytotoxic properties

“…In fact, the present findings for cytotoxic activity of compound 8 are consistent with results demonstrated for similar steroidal compounds obtained from various marine natural sources. [ 35 36 ] A previous study had shown that ergosta-5,24 (28)-dien-3-ol (8), reported from several Haliclona sponges, possess moderate cytotoxicity against the human foreskin fibroblast cell line (Hs27 cells) with an IC 50 value of 58 μM. [ 34 ] On the other hand, a recent study revealed that alkaloids, isolated from roots of Zanthoxylum nitidum, with mannopyranoside indole nucleus, possessed significant cytotoxic activities against selected tumor cell lines with IC 50 of <30 μm.…”