The In Vitro Anti-Tumor Activity of Phycocyanin against Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells

Abstract

Phycocyanin, a type of functional food colorant, is shown to have a potent anti-cancer property. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most aggressive form of cancers with few effective therapeutic options. Previous studies have demonstrated that phycocyanin exerts a growth inhibitory effect on NSCLC A549 cells. However, its biological function and underlying regulatory mechanism on other cells still remain unknown. Here, we investigated the in vitro function of phycocyanin on three typical NSCLC cell lines, NCI-H1299, NCI-H460, and LTEP-A2, for the first time. The results showed that phycocyanin could significantly induce apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, as well as suppress cell migration, proliferation, and the colony formation ability of NSCLC cells through regulating multiple key genes. Strikingly, phycocyanin was discovered to affect the cell phenotype through regulating the NF-κB signaling of NSCLC cells. Our findings demonstrated the anti-neoplastic function of phycocyanin and provided valuable information for the regulation of phycocyanin in NSCLC cells.

Phycocyanin Improves Reproductive Ability in Obese Female Mice by Restoring Ovary and Oocyte Quality

“…Recently, we found that continuous intragastric administration of PC significantly reduced the accumulation of ROS inside oocytes of D-galactoseinduced aging mice and improved their oocyte quality, increasing female fertility (Li et al, 2016). Moreover, increasing evidence indicates that PC promotes cell activity, eliminates free radicals, and improves organ function (Li et al, 2013;Hao et al, 2018), and has become widely used as a natural substance with antioxidant, neuro-protective, anti-inflammatory, and oxygen free-radical scavenging properties (Romay et al, 2003;Gupta et al, 2011;Fernández-Rojas et al, 2014).…”

A highly purified C-phycocyanin from thermophilic cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus elongatus and its cytotoxic activity assessment using an in vitro cell-based approach

“…Although there are several reported protocols concerning isolation and purification of C-PC from various cyanobacterial species, still purification of C-PC from Arthrospira (Spirulina) platensis has great value among researchers for its medical applications [15]. On the contrary to previously reported purification protocols, an improvement in A 620 /A 280 ratio was performed in the present study based on reduction of protein impurities in crude extract via combination of mild isolation and ammonium sulphate precipitation of C-PC [2].…”

Sandensolide Induces Oxidative Stress-Mediated Apoptosis in Oral Cancer Cells and in Zebrafish Xenograft Model

“…The application of natural products for chemoprevention and therapy has been becoming a more and more important issue over the past three decades [ 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Several studies have shown that some marine-derived compounds possess biological activity and pharmacological effect in cancer models with little or no side effects [ 22 , 23 , 24 ].…”