Effect of the Persian Gulf Brittle Star (Ophiocoma erinaceus) Dichloromethane Extract on Induction of Apoptosis on EL4 Cell Line

The natural products are considered promising candidates for cancer treatment. Brittle stars are echinoderms that biologically include active compounds. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the Persian Gulf brittle star (Ophiocoma erinaceus) dichloromethane extract on induction of apoptosis in the EL4 cell line. In this laboratory study, the lymphoma cells were cultured in RPMI 1640 medium. After 24 h, cells were treated with different concentrations (7.5, 15, 31, 62, 125 and 250 µg/ml) of brittle star dichloromethane extract. Then, cytotoxic effect and effective dose were studied using MTT assay (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide), further, cell death was induced by the relevant tests and apoptosis induction pathway was investigated by caspase 3 and 9 assay. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by TUKEY's multiple comparisons test. The findings showed that the brittle star extract had a cytotoxic effect on Lymphoma cell line. So that lower concentrations of 31 µg/ml inhibited cell proliferation and higher concentrations of 31 µg/ml caused lysis of cells and the IC50 concentration was 31 µg/ml (p<0.05). The caspase colorimetric assay showed that apoptosis induced by brittle star extracts was caspase-dependent via intrinsic pathway on lymphoma cell line. Brittle star dichloromethane extract promoted apoptosis in EL4 cells that proposed an innovative candidate for treatment of leukemia, altogether