Melatonin has an inhibitory effect on MCF‐7 and MDA‐MB‐231 human breast cancer cell lines by inducing autophagy and apoptosis

Abstract

The goal of this work was to see how melatonin affected Bax and Bcl‐2 expression, as well as apoptosis and autophagy, in MCF‐7 and MDA‐MB‐231 breast cancer cell lines, which have distinct hormonal sensitivities. In this study, to investigate the IC50 value of melatonin, varied melatonin concentrations were administered to MCF‐7 and MDA‐MB‐231 breast cancer cell lines. Moreover, cytotoxic activities were analyzed through MTT analysis. Five subgroups were created for both cell lines: control, IC50‐MeL, hIC50‐MeL, DMSO1, and DMSO2. To evaluate the apoptotic effect of melatonin, immunofluorescence staining methods of TUNEL, Bax, and Bcl‐2 were used, and to examine the effects of autophagy, immunofluorescence staining methods of Beclin‐1, LC3, and p62 were used. In vitro results revealed upregulation of the expression of TUNEL and Bax in both MCF‐7 and MDA‐MB‐231 cell lines regarding dose and time, but downregulation of Bcl‐2 expression. Moreover, autophagy results were consistent with in vitro apoptosis results in both MCF‐7 and MDA‐MB‐231 cell lines. We determined that the expressions of the autophagy markers Beclin‐1, LC3, and p62 were increased. Our findings indicate that treatment of breast cancer cells with melatonin increased the inhibitory effect of melatonin on cell growth through both apoptosis and autophagy in vitro. Consequently, it was concluded that melatonin might adjust the expression balance of markers that have a role in cell death mechanisms and significantly promote these mechanisms. Therefore, melatonin can inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells by inducing cell death.

Chronotherapy: Circadian Rhythms and Their Influence in Cancer Therapy

“…This action could be due to its antioxidant activity, stimulation of apoptosis, or inhibition of angiogenesis and tumor metastasis, among others [ 127 ]. In addition, Önder et al demonstrated that treatment with melatonin increased its repressive effect on the growth of breast cancer cells by inducing cell death in vitro [ 128 ]. Therefore, melatonin could be applied as an adjuvant treatment to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, making tumor cells more sensitive to both treatments [ 126 , 129 ].…”

Therapeutic potential of hesperidin: Apoptosis induction in breast cancer cell lines

“…Cell growth was assessed in 96-well plates at the 24, 48, and 72 h points using the methylthiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay (Onder et al 2022). 100 ml of complete medium containing 5x103 cells were seeded in each well.…”

“…The following day (day 0), cells were treated with different concentrations of HES (20,40,60, 80 and 100 µM). Cell growth was assessed at the 24, 48, and 72 h points using the methylthiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay (Onder et al 2022). HES's half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) was determined.…”

“…To determine Bax and Bcl-2 expression pro les, an immuno uorescence staining was used as previously described (Onder et al 2022). Cells were incubated on coverslips in a 24-well plate.…”

Lokal anesteziklerden levobupivakain ve ropivakain kolon kanseri tedavisinde kullanılabilir mi?

“…PBS-washed coverslips were treated with DAPI for one minute, and the nuclei were stained. After the coverslips were washed again with PBS and sealed with the water-based sealer, the obtained preparations were examined under an Olympus BX51 fluorescent microscope 19 .…”