Cytotoxic activity against breast cancer cells of two species of marine sponges from shallows of Yucatan peninsula

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro activity of extracts of two marine sponge species, occurring in the shallows of the Yucatan peninsula coast, on two cancer and one normal mammalian cell lines. Hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of Halichondria magniconulosa and Halichondria melanadocia were screened for their cytotoxic activity against hormone-dependent breast cancer (MCF-7) and human cervix cancer (SiHa) cell lines. The ethyl acetate extract of H. magniconulosa exhibited significant cytotoxicity against MCF-7 cells to a CC₅₀ of 0.8 µg/mL, as well as high selectivity (SI = 24.5). On the other hand, SiHa cells were moderately sensitive to the dichloromethane and ethyl acetate extracts of the same species. (CC₅₀ = 34.9 and 31.5 µg/mL, respectively). None of the extracts of H. melanadocia were considered active due their CC₅₀’s were ranged from 59.0 to 94.5 µg/mL.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Marine sponges
• MCF-7 cells
• breast cancer
• cytotoxicity
• selectivity
• Yucatan peninsula

Acknowledgement

The authors are grateful with Patricia Gómez López, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, for the authentication of the studied species.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding

This work was funded by grant FQUI-2016-008 provided by Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán and was taken in part from the doctoral thesis of J. Salazar-Mendoza, which is grateful to CONACYT for the doctoral fellowship No. 291025.