Title:Is Quercetin Beneficial for Colon Cancer? A Cell Culture Study, Using the Apoptosis Pathways
Volume: 22
Issue: 1
Author(s): Meltem Özgöçmen*, Dilek Bayram, İlkay Armağan, Gülçin Yavuz Türel, Murat Sevimli and Nurgül Şenol
Affiliation:
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Süleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkey
Keywords:
AIF, caspase 3, monolayer culture, quercetin, spheroid culture, SW480.
Abstract: Background: Quercetin (QCT) is a dietary flavonoid with many beneficial effects (e.g., antioxidant, antiaging,
antidiabetic, antifungal effects, and regulation of gastrointestinal motor activity in human); furthermore, it induces
apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and differentiation.
Objective: The apoptotic effects of OCT were investigated on SW480 human colon cancer cell lines in monolayer and
spheroid cultures.
Methods: Quercetin (40–200 μM) was applied, and Inhibitory Concentration (IC50) doses were determined for three
time intervals (24, 48, and 72 h). The effective dose was determined and applied for analyses, including staining with
BrdU to investigate cell proliferation, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick and labeling (TUNEL) to investigate
apoptosis, and caspase-3 and Apoptosis Inducing Factor (AIF) to investigate caspase-dependent or independent
apoptotic pathways.
Results: The effective dose of QCT was determined to be 200 μM and was found to induce apoptosis and inhibit cell
proliferation at 24, 48, and 72 h,both in 2D and 3D cultures. Significant increases were observed in both caspase-3 and
AIF staining, but cells showed greater caspase-3 staining compared with AIF staining at all time intervals (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The QCT treatment groups showed more cell death and less cell growth compared with the untreated
control groups in both 2D and 3D cultures of SW480 cell lines. The results suggest that quercetin induces apoptosis,
inhibits cell proliferation, and has a protective role against colon cancer. However, further studies are needed to clarify
its mechanism of action.