Neurotoxic, cytotoxic, apoptotic and antiproliferative effects of some marine algae extracts on the NA2B cell line.

Oxidative stress contributes to cancer pathologies and to apoptosis. Marine algae exhibit cytotoxic, antiproliferative and apoptotic effects; their metabolites have been used to treat many types of cancer. We investigated in culture extracts of Petalonia fascia, Jania longifurca and Halimeda tuna to determine their effects on mouse neuroblastoma cell line, NA2B. NA2B cells were treated with algae extracts, and the survival and proliferation of NA2B cells were assessed using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The effects of algae extracts on oxidative stress in NA2B cells also were investigated using nitric oxide synthase (NOS) immunocytochemistry and apoptosis was assessed using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling. We observed significant neurite inhibition with moderate damage by the neurotoxicity-screening test (NST) at IC50 dilutions of the extracts. MTT demonstrated that J. longifurca extracts were more toxic than P. fascia and H. tuna extracts. We found an increase of endothelial and inducible NOS immunostaining for oxidative stress and TUNEL analysis revealed increased apoptosis after application of extract. Our findings suggest that the algae we tested may have potential use for treatment of cancer.

The cytotoxic, neurotoxic, apoptotic and antiproliferative activities of extracts of some marine algae on the MCF-7 cell line.

Abstract We investigated the cytotoxic, neurotoxic, apoptotic and antiproliferative effects of extracts from Petalonia fascia, Jania longifurca and Halimeda tuna on the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. J. longifurca extracts were more toxic than those of P. fascia and H. tuna. The algal extracts showed significant toxic effects at different dilutions. The toxic effects were due to increased oxidative stress and resulted in apoptosis. Algal toxicity may exert negative effects through the food chain or by direct interaction. Algal toxicity also has potential for cancer therapy. The toxic effects that we observed may be especially important for therapy for breast tumors.