Generation of Redox Imbalance Mediates the Cytotoxic Effect of Malabaricone-A in a Multidrug Resistant Cell Line

Title:Generation of Redox Imbalance Mediates the Cytotoxic Effect of Malabaricone-A in a Multidrug Resistant Cell Line

Volume: 15 Issue: 9

Author(s): Alak Manna, Ajay K Bauri, Subrata Chattopadhyay and Mitali Chatterjee

Affiliation:

Keywords: Apoptosis, drug resistance, malabaricone-A, oxidative stress, pro-oxidant.

Abstract: Multidrug resistance (MDR) refers to cross-resistance to a range of structurally and functionally unrelated compounds, and is accompanied by an elevated expression of ATP driven cell-membrane transporters. The cytotoxicity of Malabaricone-A (MAL-A), a diarylnonanoid derived from Myristica malabarica was demonstrated in leukemic cell lines, but its effectiveness in drug-resistant cancer cell lines has not been evaluated. Accordingly, this study tested its cytotoxic potential in a T-lymphoblastic leukemic cell line, CCRF CEM and its MDR counterpart, CEM/ADR5000. The effectiveness of MAL-A was 1.8 fold higher in CEM/ADR5000 than CCRF CEM cell line, the IC₅₀ being value 5.40 ± 1.41 vs. 9.72 ± 1.08 µg/ml, respectively, suggesting that MAL-A demonstrated ‘collateral sensitivity’. This cytotoxicity of MAL-A was attributed to an enhanced generation of oxidative stress, as the IC_{50 value} increased following the addition of an anti-oxidant, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC). Furthermore, MAL-A depleted glutathione and inhibited glutathione peroxidase activity, which too contributed towards generation of a redox imbalance. This culminated in an apoptosis mediated cell death as evident by mitochondrial membrane depolarization, enhanced caspase-3 activity, increased externalization of phosphatidylserine and an increase in the sub G₀/G₁ population. Collectively, compounds with pro-oxidant activity have promising therapeutic potential in drug resistant phenotypes, worthy of future pharmacological consideration.

Cite this article as:

Manna Alak, Bauri K Ajay, Chattopadhyay Subrata and Chatterjee Mitali, Generation of Redox Imbalance Mediates the Cytotoxic Effect of Malabaricone-A in a Multidrug Resistant Cell Line, Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry 2015; 15 (9) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1871520615666150602093004