Cytotoxic and pro-apoptotic effects of spirulina platensis extract on SKBR-3 breast adenocarcinoma cell line

Breast cancer is known as one of the most common malignancies among women. Due to Induced death of the disease recurrence in many patients, use of novel methods and drugs is very important for them. The microalgae Spirulina platensis is used in the treatment of many diseases, including cancer, due to its large amounts of beneficial compounds. Therefore, in the present study, cytotoxic and pro-apoptotic effects of spirulina platensis extract on SKBR-3 breast adenocarcinoma cell line assessed.

In the present experimental study, the SKBR-3 breast cancer cells were treated in four experimental groups with 400, 200, 100 and 50 μg / ml extract of spirulina and incubated at 24 and 48 hours. Cytotoxicity was analyzed by MTS kit and apoptosis was analyzed by flow- cytometry using an Annexin V-FITC/PI kit according to the manufacturer protocol in both times. Statistical analysis was accomplished by ANOVA and Duncan tests using FlowJo and SPSS 18 softwars.

The MTS results indicate decrease in bioavailability of cells in 48h incubation time in contrary to 24h incubation time in other experimental groups. This decrease is significant at concentrations of 200, 100 and 50 μg / ml of spirulina extract compared to the control group (P=0.044). The induction of apoptosis at both incubation times; 24 h (P=0.036) and 48h (P=0.032) was significantly increased in other experimental groups compared to the control group.

Extracts of Spirulina platensis can be used as a source to develop anticancer drugs against breast cancer.