Abstract
BackgroundWe investigated the effect of C. colocynthis extract and phycocyanin on the growth of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells, and assessed the expression of caspase 3 and Bax encoding genes. MethodsWiDr, HCT-116 and HCT-15 CRC cells were treated with various concentrations of C. colocynthis and phycocyanin extracts for 24, 48 & 72 h. The cell cytotoxicity was measured by MTT assay. Expression of Caspase 3 and Bax genes was evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR). ResultsThe combination of extract + phycocyanin as well as C. colocynthis singly unraveled higher inhibitory effects against cancer cells compared to phycocyanin and control. The IC50 values for phycocyanin and the extract + phycocyanin included 6.2 ± 0.86 and 3.8 ± 1.06 μg/μL against ViDr, 6.90 ± 1.11 and 5.87 ± 3.43, respectively. Their cytotoxicity was low against normal cells. The expression of Bax gene was significantly increased in exposure of extract + phycocyanin and also C. colocynthis extract treatment. In addition, the combination of extract + phycocyanin and C. colocynthis extract significantly increased the expression of caspase 3 gene in CRC cell lines. ConclusionC. colocynthis extract, as well as the combination of extract + phycocyanin increased the expression of Bax and caspase 3 genes, indicating intervention in the apoptosis in cancer cells. Although the expression of Bax and Caspase 3 is a major anticancer mechanism of extract and phycocyanin, this finding and other mechanisms require further investigations.
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