Morphological, cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of different concentrations of nisin ZP on MG63 cells in a 3-dimensional culture system

Abstract

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a primary bone cancer that commonly affects young individuals. Despite treatment, it is known to be highly resistant to therapy. Nisin, a bacteriocin released by Lactococcus lactis has been shown to exhibit an apoptotic effect on cancer cells. To better represent in vivo cancer cell constructs, 3-dimensional (3D) culture systems have been used in vitro. This study aims to compare the effects of nisin on OS cell culture in both monolayered and 3D gas-permeable VECELL® G-Plate. Osteosarcoma cells (MG63) were cultured on 3D culture (G-Plate) and normal culture plates. Morphological assessments were carried out through light and scanning electron microscopic examinations. The results showed that the use of a 3D system is more reliable in the development of 3D osteosarcoma models compared to the 2-dimensional (2D) culture system. Specifically, the 3D culture demonstrated the formation of MG63 spheroids, indicating the reliability of the hanging drop methods to produce spheroidal cell morphology. Additionally, the cell viability assay showed a higher IC50 value for 2D groups compared to the 3D groups, with values of 102.56 µg/mL and 33.96 µg/mL, respectively. Finally, a dose-dependent apoptosis was noticed for the apoptotic assay, further demonstrating the effectiveness of the 3D culture system. The effectiveness of nisin ZP as an anticancer agent was observed in both 2D and 3D culture systems. However, the 3D culture system required a higher dose of nisin ZP to demonstrate its potential, indicating that this system could be a promising approach in OS intervention studies.