Induction of apoptosis in ovarian cancer cell lines by plant extract Galium verum

Subject Areas : Journal of Animal Biology

Fatemeh Keshvary ¹ , Somayeh Arabzadeh ² , Masoomeh Hasanbarani ³ , Fatemeh Akbarian ⁴ , shadi hajrasouliha ⁵

1 - . Ale Taha institute of higher education, Faculty of Basic Science, Department of Biology, Tehran, Iran.
2 - Ale Taha Institute of Higher Education, Faculty of Basic Science, Department of Biology, Tehran, Iran.
3 - 3- Assistant Professor, Ale Taha Institute of Higher Education, Tehran, Iran.
4 - Ale Taha Institute of Higher Education, Faculty of Basic Science, Department of Biology, Tehran, Iran.
5 - Herbal Pharmacology Research Center, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2025-01-05 Accepted : 2025-04-20 Published : 2025-07-02

Keywords: Ovarian cancer, Apoptoiss, Galium Verum, BIM, SORT1,

Abstract :

Ovarian cancer has the highest mortality rate among cancers due to its asymptomatic course, late diagnosis, and recurrence. The first treatment approach for ovarian cancer is chemotherapy. However, due to many side effects, the response is transient and accompanied by relapse. Therefore, developing new treatment approaches for this disease is very important. Previous studies showed that milk cheese plant extract has anti-cancer properties and reduces cell proliferation. This study investigated the effect of Galium Verum leaf extract on proliferation behavior and induction of apoptosis in A2780 cancer cells in laboratory conditions. Cells were grown and multiplied in laboratory conditions. Then they were treated with concentrations (6.2-12.5-25-50-100 mM) of milk cheese plant extract for 24, 48, and 72 hours. The percentage of cell viability was evaluated by the MTT method. Changes in the expression levels of SORT1 and BIM genes in treatment and control conditions were evaluated by quantitative Real-Time PCR technique. Our results showed that the concentration of 25 mM of the extract caused a 50% decrease in the survival of the ovarian cancer cell line A2780 cells. At the same time, it did not significantly change the survival percentage of the fibroblast cells. Also, treatment with plant extract caused a twofold increase in the expression of the BIM apoptosis gene in cancer cells compared to control cells. The expression of the SORT1 gene in cancer cells treated with plant extract increased by 4 times compared to the control state. Therefore, from the observed results, we can understand the possible role of milk cheese plant extract in controlling the growth of ovarian cancer cells and inducing apoptosis in them.

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