RESUMO
Abstract Metabolic plasticity in cancer cells assures cell survival and cell proliferation under variable levels of oxygen and nutrients. Therefore, new anticancer treatments endeavor to target such plasticity by modifying main metabolic pathways as glycolysis or oxidative phosphorylation. In American traditional medicine Petiveria alliacea L., Phytolaccacea, leaf extracts have been used for leukemia and breast cancer treatments. Herein, we study cytotoxicity and antitumoral effects of P. alliacea extract in tumor/non-tumorigenic cell lines and murine breast cancer model. Breast cancer cells treated with P. alliacea dry extract showed reduction in β-F1-ATPase expression, glycolytic flux triggering diminished intracellular ATP levels, mitochondrial basal respiration and oxygen consumption. Consequently, a decline in cell proliferation was observed in conventional and three-dimension spheres breast cancer cells culture. Additionally, in vivo treatment of BALB/c mice transplanted with the murine breast cancer TS/A tumor showed that P. alliacea extract via i.p. decreases the primary tumor growth and increases survival in the TS/A model.
RESUMO
Dichloro[2-(dimethylaminomethyl)phenyl- phenyl-C1,N]gold(III), [Au(damp-C1,N)Cl2], reacts with the formylferrocene thiosemicarbazones derived from 4-methyl-, 4-phenyl-, 4-ethyl- and 4,4-dimethyl-3-thiosemicarbazides, HFcTSC, to give complexes of general formula [Au(Hdamp-1C)Cl(FcTSC)]Cl. These complexes were isolated and characterized by elemental analysis, mass spectrometry and IR, 1H NMR and (13)C NMR spectroscopy. In some cases, cyclic voltammetric studies were carried out and these showed that the complexation of gold affects the redox behaviour of the ferrocene unit. The in vitro antitumor activity against the HeLa cell line was also determined for the more soluble complexes. The IC(50) values were found to be higher than that of cisplatin but the maximum antiproliferative activity was similar.