Cytotoxic Activity of Carrageenan on Malignant MCF-7 Breast Cancer and the non-Malignant SVCT Breast Epithelial Cell Lines

Abstract

Objective: Recent studies have shown that sulfated polysaccharides obtained from marine algae have many biological and physiological activities. Kappa-carrageenan, a sulfated polysaccharide obtained from red marine algae, is known to have anti-proliferative effects in various cancer cell lines. In this study, the cytotoxic effect of kappa-carrageenan on two different cell lines, namely the malignant MCF-7 breast cancer cell line and the non-malignant SVCT breast epithelial cell lines, was investigated in an in vitro model. Materials & Methods: Three different concentrations of carrageenan were prepared for each cell in its own medium, with an initial dose of 1000 µg/ml (Dilution I: 1000 µg/ml; Dilution II: 250 µg/ml; Dilution III: 62.5 µg/ml). Cells were incubated with carrageenan at the doses set for each experimental group. Cells incubated in a carrageenan-free medium comprised the control group. Results: To measure cell viability, 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide (MTT) analysis was performed. Cell morphology was investigated by the acridine orange (AO)/propidium iodide (PI) fluorescent staining method. The present results indicated that carrageenan caused cytotoxic effects on both malignant and non-malignant cell lines. Conclusion: Considering that the different phenotypic features of the subtypes of the MCF-7 cell line may affect cell viability and cell proliferation, cell selection should be performed very carefully in cytotoxicity studies. We suggest that using the MCF-7 cell line for cytotoxicity experiments needs to contemplate this important phenomenon for further experimental setups.