Abstract
Purpose: To evaluate the influence of DMEM extract of Turkish propolis (TP) on the morphology of metastatic MDA-MB-231 cells.
 Methods: The cells were incubated with DMEM extract of TP (collected from Trabzon in Turkey) at a dose of 2.5 mg/mL for 72 h. The effect of DMEM extract on proliferation and cytotoxicity of the cells was determined using 3-[4,5-dimethyltiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and trypan blue exclusion assay. MDA-MB-231 cells incubated with or without extracts were randomly photographed with a camera-coupled inverted microscope. Treated and control MDA-MB-231 cells were classified as monopolar, bipolar or multipolar, and their dimensions measured with an electronic caliper.
 Results: Although the extract reduced the proliferation of the cells, the effect was not statistically significant (p < 0.05). Moreover, no cytotoxic effect was observed. Field diameters, process length and cell body diameters of the treated cells were increased by DMEM extract treatment in bipolar and multipolar cell types, but these parameters were decreased in monopolar cell type, although insignificantly (p < 0.05). In addition, the process thickness of treated MDA-MB-231 cells increased insignificantly in all cell types (p < 0.05).
 Conclusion: These findings indicate that DMEM extract of TP at a dose of 2.5 mg/mL morphologically suppresses monopolar MDA-MB-231 cells. Future studies would examine the morphological effects of different concentrations of the propolis extract in anti-proliferation, cytotoxicity and morphological investigations in MDA-MB-231 cells.
Highlights
Among all forms of cancers, breast cancer is the most common and one of the leading causes of death in women
Morphological measurements were performed on control MDA-MB-231 cells and treated MDA-MB231 cells with 2.5 mg/mL DMEM extract of propolis, using a Zeiss inverted microscope hooked to a TV monitor [22]
DMEM extract of propolis was used at a concentration of 2.5 mg/mL to determine its effect on percentage cell viability, relative cell number and the morphology of MDA-MB-231 cells, relative to control, untreated MDA-MB-231 cells
Summary
Diarrhea, herpes and other infections; as well as breast cancer and other cancers [6,7,8]. Studies have shown that aqueous and ethanol extracts of propolis, and propolis-derived compounds such as quercetin, galangin and kaempferol possess apoptotic effects, antioxidant activities, cytotoxic properties, antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory activities, as well as antiangiogenetic and anti-genotoxic properties in various cancer cell lines [6,10,12]. This study was carried out to identify, for the first time, the effects of DMEM extract of propolis on proliferation, cytotoxicity and morphology of MDA-MB-231 cells, relative to control cells. Stock DMEM extract of propolis was obtained after centrifuging for 10 min at 4000 rpm. The effect of the TP extract on MDA-MB-231 cell viability was determined using trypan blue assay. The results for control and treated MDA-MB-231 cells were determined in triplicate assays. Morphological measurements were performed on control MDA-MB-231 cells and treated MDA-MB231 cells with 2.5 mg/mL DMEM extract of propolis, using a Zeiss inverted microscope hooked to a TV monitor [22].
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