Evaluation of Cytotoxicity of the Methanolic Extract of Red Sea Marine Sponge Xestospongia Testudinaria and Its Related Compounds Against MCF-7 Human Breast Cancer Cells

Abstract

Background

Breast cancer is a leading cause of death and one of the most common fatal medical conditions in the world. Chemical compounds of various types have been identified in the Red Sea marine sponge Xestospongia testudinaria, including sterol esters, sterols, indole alkaloids, and brominated polyunsaturated fatty acids. These compounds have demonstrated promising biological features, which in cludes anti-inflammatory, cancer preventive, and antioxidant capacities.

Methods

The cytotoxic potential of Xestospongia testudinaria was assessed by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and morphological alterations in MCF-7 cell line. Furthermore, the flow cytometry was also utilized to assess apoptosis and identify changes in the cell cycle; besides, cell migration was assessed by scratch wound-healing assay.

Results

A significant dose-dependent decrease in the percentage of MCF-7 cell viability was observed with IC₅₀ 39.8 ug/mL. Functional studies were performed on MCF-7 to show that Xestospongia testudinaria raises apoptotic cell death and induces growth arrest at the G1/G0 while inhibiting cell migration in scratch assay.

Conclusion

These results demonstrated that Xestospongia testudinaria extract has an inhibitory effect on breast cancer cells proliferation, migration and induce apoptosis. Thus, it holds great promise as a potential treatment for breast cancer.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Red Sea sponge
• Xestospongia testudinaria
• breast cancer cell lines
• cytotoxic activity

Acknowledgments

AcknowledgmentsThis research work was funded by the Institutional Funds Projects under grant no (IFPRC-003-290-2020). Therefore, the authors gratefully acknowledge the technical and financial support from the Ministry of Education and King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Author Contributions

All authors made substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; took part in drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; agreed to submit to the current journal; gave final approval of the version to be published; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the Institutional Fund Projects (grant no. IFPRC-003-290-2020).