Ocimum basilicum but not Ocimum gratissimum present cytotoxic effects on human breast cancer cell line MCF-7, inducing apoptosis and triggering mTOR/Akt/p70S6K pathway

Torres, Renan Gianoti; Casanova, Livia; Carvalho, Julia; Marcondes, Mariah Celestino; Costa, Sonia Soares; Sola-Penna, Mauro; Zancan, Patricia

doi:10.1007/s10863-018-9750-3

Published: 28 March 2018

Ocimum basilicum but not Ocimum gratissimum present cytotoxic effects on human breast cancer cell line MCF-7, inducing apoptosis and triggering mTOR/Akt/p70S6K pathway

Renan Gianoti Torres¹,
Livia Casanova²,
Julia Carvalho¹,
Mariah Celestino Marcondes^1,3,
Sonia Soares Costa²,
Mauro Sola-Penna⁴ &
Patricia Zancan¹

Journal of Bioenergetics and Biomembranes volume 50, pages 93–105 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

Breast cancer is the major cause of death by cancer in women worldwide and in spite of the many drugs for its treatment, there is still the need for novel therapies for its control. Ocimum species have been used by traditional medicine to control several diseases, including cancer. We have previously characterized the antidiabetic properties of the unfractionated aqueous leaf extracts of Ocimum basilicum (OB) and Ocimum gratissimum (OG), modulating glucose metabolism in diabetic mice. Since glucose metabolism is primordial for cancer cells survival, we hypothesized that these extracts are effective against cancer cells. The unfractionated aqueous leaf extracts of OB and OG were chemically characterized and tested for their cytotoxic, cytostatic and anti-proliferative properties against the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7. Both extracts presented cytostatic effects with an 80% decrease in MCF-7 cell growth at 1 mg/mL. However, only OB promoted cytotoxic effects, interfering with the cell viability even after interruption of the treatment. Moreover, OB but not OG affected the cell proliferation and metabolism, evaluated in terms of lactate production and intracellular ATP content. After 24 h of treatment, OB treated cells presented an apoptotic profile, while OG treated cells were more necrotic. The treatment with both extracts also activated AMPK, but OB was much more efficient than OG in promoting this. The activation of mTOR signaling, another survival pathway was promoted by OB, whereas OG failed to activate it. In the end, we conclude that OB extract is efficient against the human breast cancer cell line.

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Acknowledgements

Authors thank to Dr. Patricia L. Mitchell for her comments and for English grammar editing of the text, and Ricardo Imbroisi for the support on cell culture procedures.

Funding

This work was supported by grants from the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Apoio à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES).

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Laboratório de Oncobiologia Molecular (LabOMol), Departamento de Biotecnologia Farmacêutica, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Renan Gianoti Torres, Julia Carvalho, Mariah Celestino Marcondes & Patricia Zancan
Instituto de Pesquisa em Produtos Naturais (IPPN), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-903, Brazil
Livia Casanova & Sonia Soares Costa
Instituto Nacional de Câncer (INCa), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Mariah Celestino Marcondes
Laboratório de Enzimologia e Controle do Metabolismo (LabECoM), Departamento de Biotecnologia Farmacêutica, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Mauro Sola-Penna

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Renan Gianoti Torres
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Livia Casanova
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Julia Carvalho
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Mariah Celestino Marcondes
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Sonia Soares Costa
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Mauro Sola-Penna
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Patricia Zancan
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Correspondence to Patricia Zancan.

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Torres, R.G., Casanova, L., Carvalho, J. et al. Ocimum basilicum but not Ocimum gratissimum present cytotoxic effects on human breast cancer cell line MCF-7, inducing apoptosis and triggering mTOR/Akt/p70S6K pathway. J Bioenerg Biomembr 50, 93–105 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10863-018-9750-3

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Received: 01 December 2017
Accepted: 09 March 2018
Published: 28 March 2018
Issue Date: April 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10863-018-9750-3

Keywords

Cancer
Natural product
Metabolism
Intracellular signalization
Therapy