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. 2014 Apr 15:4:40.
doi: 10.1186/s13568-014-0040-0. eCollection 2014.

Effects of biosurfactants on the viability and proliferation of human breast cancer cells

Cristina Duarte  1 , Eduardo J Gudiña  1 , Cristovao F Lima  2 , Ligia R Rodrigues  1
Affiliations

Effects of biosurfactants on the viability and proliferation of human breast cancer cells

Cristina Duarte et al. AMB Express. .

Abstract

Biosurfactants are molecules with surface activity produced by microorganisms that can be used in many biomedical applications. The anti-tumour potential of these molecules is being studied, although results are still scarce and few data are available regarding the mechanisms underlying such activity. In this work, the anti-tumour activity of a surfactin produced by Bacillus subtilis 573 and a glycoprotein (BioEG) produced by Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei A20 was evaluated. Both biosurfactants were tested against two breast cancer cell lines, T47D and MDA-MB-231, and a non-tumour fibroblast cell line (MC-3 T3-E1), specifically regarding cell viability and proliferation. Surfactin was found to decrease viability of both breast cancer cell lines studied. A 24 h exposure to 0.05 g l(-1) surfactin led to inhibition of cell proliferation as shown by cell cycle arrest at G1 phase. Similarly, exposure of cells to 0.15 g l(-1) BioEG for 48 h decreased cancer cells' viability, without affecting normal fibroblasts. Moreover, BioEG induced the cell cycle arrest at G1 for both breast cancer cell lines. The biosurfactant BioEG was shown to be more active than surfactin against the studied breast cancer cells. The results gathered in this work are very promising regarding the biosurfactants potential for breast cancer treatment and encourage further work with the BioEG glycoprotein.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Cell cycle; Cell viability; Lactobacillus paracasei glycoprotein; Surfactin lipopeptide.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Dose-response curve for T47D (A) and MDA-MB-231 (B) breast cancer and (C) MCT-3 T3-E1 non-tumour cell lines exposed to different concentrations of surfactin for 24, 48 and 72 h. Values represent the average of 3 independent cultures with 3 replicates per concentration in each experiment. Each exposure time was studied in triplicate with independent cultures. All results were normalized and the results correspond to the mean ± standard deviation of three independent experiments. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.005 and ****P < 0.001 when concentrations and exposure times were compared to the control.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Dose-response curve for T47D (A) and MDA-MB-231 (B) breast cancer and (C) MCT-3 T3-E1 non-tumour cell lines exposed to different concentrations of BioEG for 24, 48 and 72 h. Values represent the average of 3 independent cultures with 3 replicates per concentration in each experiment. Each exposure time was studied in triplicate with independent cultures. All results were normalized and the results correspond to the mean ± standard deviation of three independent experiments. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.005 and ****P < 0.001 when concentrations and exposure times were compared to the control.
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