EVALUATING THE ANTI-PROLIFERATIVE EFFECT OF 2-METHYL- 3-PENTYL-6-METHOXYPRODIGININE IN HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA CELLS

Hepatocellular carcinoma remains often refractory to classic therapies. Therefore,
the search for new natural compounds with minimal toxicity is of particular interest in treatment of liver
cancer. In this context, it has been shown that 2-methyl-3-pentyl-6-methoxyprodiginine isolated from
cell wall of Serratia marcescens has powerful growth inhibitory effects against different kinds of cancer
cells. In this study, we investigated the anti-proliferative effect of prodigiosin on the human
hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells on a dose-response and time-course basis.
Materials & Methods: Malignant cells were treated with various concentrations of prodigiosin (100,
200, 400 and 600 nM) and incubated for 24 to 72 h. After treatments, proliferation-rates were determined
by MTT assay. Following 48 h treatments with indicated concentrations of prodigiosin, cell number and
apoptotic rates were also measured by hemocytometer and flow cytometer respectively.
Results: Treatment of cells with increasing concentrations of prodigiosin significantly decreased
proliferation-rates in a dose-and time-dependent manner compared to untreated cells. Specifically,
Following 72 h treatments with 100, 200, 400 and 600 nM prodigiosin proliferation-rates were found to
be %44 ± %2, %33 ± %4, %27 ± %3 and 27% ± %5 for indicated concentrations of prodigiosin
respectively. We also found that the cell numbers were decreased in a dose-dependent manner.
Specifically, 48 h treatment with 600 nM prodigiosin resulted in 77% decrease in cell number compared
to untreated cells. An increase in the number of apoptotic cells (late), ranging from 37 to 97.4 %, was
also observed with increasing prodigiosin concentrations.
Conclusion: Prodigiosin decreases proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells with induction of
apoptosis in these cells. Therefore, this compound may provide a powerful growth inhibitory agent on
proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells