The cytotoxic effect of α-tomatine in MCF-7 human adenocarcinoma breast cancer cells depends on its interaction with cholesterol in incubation media and does not involve apoptosis induction

Sucha,Lenka; Hroch,Milos; Rezacova,Martina; Rudolf,Emil; Havelek,Radim; Sispera,Ludek; Cmielova,Jana; Kohlerova,Renata; Bezrouk,Ales; Tomsik,Pavel

doi:10.3892/or.2013.2778

The cytotoxic effect of α-tomatine in MCF-7 human adenocarcinoma breast cancer cells depends on its interaction with cholesterol in incubation media and does not involve apoptosis induction

Authors:
- Lenka Sucha
- Milos Hroch
- Martina Rezacova
- Emil Rudolf
- Radim Havelek
- Ludek Sispera
- Jana Cmielova
- Renata Kohlerova
- Ales Bezrouk
- Pavel Tomsik
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Affiliations: Department of Medical Biochemistry, Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Kralove, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic, Department of Medical Biology and Genetics, Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Kralove, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic, Department of Histology and Embryology, Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
Published online on: October 2, 2013 https://doi.org/10.3892/or.2013.2778
Pages: 2593-2602
Copyright: © Sucha et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License [CC BY_NC 3.0].

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Abstract

In recent years, α-tomatine has been studied for its anticancer activity. In the present study, we focused on the cytotoxic effect of α-tomatine in the MCF-7 human breast adenocarcinoma cell line, its mechanism of action, biotransformation and stability in the culture medium. We observed an inhibition of cell proliferation and viability at concentrations of 6 and 9 µM but then a recovery of cells occurred. The recovery was not caused by the biotransformation of α-tomatine in MCF-7 cells, but by a substantial decrease in the concentration of α-tomatine in the culture medium due to its binding with cholesterol. Regarding the mechanism of action of α-tomatine, we observed no DNA damage, no changes in the levels of the proteins p53 and p21WAF1/Cip1, and no apoptosis (neither activated caspase-8 and -9, nor sub-G1 peak, or morphological signs). We found a loss of ATP in α-tomatine-treated cells. These results support the conclusion that α-tomatine does not induce apoptosis in the MCF-7 cell line.

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