Evaluation of the effects of Zymosan from Saccharomyces Cerevisiae on Tumor Growth and Apoptosis Induction in Melanoma Cells

Melanoma is a malignancy that initiates from melanocytes. Zymosan is an insoluble compound prepared from yeast cell wall and consists of protein-carbohydrate complexes. In this study, we assessed the effects of zymosan on tumor cell viability, growth and apoptosis in melanoma cell line B16F10. Melanoma cells were cultured in RPMI1640 medium with 10% fetal bovine serum.
After one day, the cells were treated by zymosan with different concentrations for 48 and 72 hours. Cell proliferation was assessed by MTT assay. Apoptosis induction was evaluated by flow cytometric analysis using Annexin V/Propidium iodide apoptosis kit. Zymosan noticeably inhibited cancer cells growth in vitro. In addition, zymosan induced apoptosis in a dose dependent manner, mainly at doses of 25μg/ml and 50μg/ml, and reduced tumor growth in vivo. Since zymosan can induce apoptosis and reduce tumor growth, it seems to be an appropriate component for cancer biotherapy and further investigation on antitumor effects of this microbial element may be beneficial.