Evaluation of anti-proliferative activity of a semi-synthetic derivative of artemisinin- artesunate in MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line

Aim: The present study aims to investigate if artesunate exerts its anti-proliferative activity by increasing antioxidant enzymes activity in MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line. Determining the oxidant effect of artesunate may elucidate a possible alternative mechanism for its cytotoxicity.
Material and For evaluating cytotoxic activity of artesunate, MCF-7 cells were treated with different concentrations (0, 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 75, 100 and 200 μg/ml) of artesunate and subjected to MTT assay after 24 hours. Also, the enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD) were measured in MCF-7 cells treated with selected doses of artesunate (0, 10, 25, 50 and 100 μg/ml) after 24h. In addition, the cell culture supernatants were used to assess the amount of nitric oxide (NO) production using the Griess method.
Artesunate inhibited the growth of MCF-7 cells, dose-dependently and also significantly increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes: superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD). Furthermore, it suppressed NO production, dose-dependently.
To conclude, it seems that artesunate exert its cytotoxic activity by increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes and through inhibition of NO production in MCF-7 cells. The increased activities of antioxidant enzymes in the treated cells could alter the antioxidant defense system, potentially contributing towards the anti-proliferative effect.