Effects of α-lactalbumin and sulindac on primary and metastatic human colon cancer cell lines

Abstract

Abstract Background HAMLET (human α-lactalbumin made lethal to tumor cells) and sulindac are active ingredients which are used in the treatment of cancers. Under both in vivo and in vitro conditions, HAMLET binds to the surface of tumor cells and enters the cells. Sulindac is one of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. It inhibits the growth of tumor cells by inducing the apoptosis. In our study, we aimed to investigate effects of α-lactalbumin and sulindac on COLO-320 primary and COLO-741 metastatic human colon carcinoma cell lines via mitochondrial apoptotic pathway by indirect immunocytochemistry and TUNEL assays. Materials and methods The effects of α-lactalbumin and sulindac were assessed by using MTT assay at 24, 48 and 72 h and apoptosis markers caspase-3, caspase-9 and cytochrome-c were detected using immunocytochemistry and TUNEL methods. Results It was appeared that α-lactalbumin and sulindac may triggger mechanisms of apoptosis in both primary and metastatic colon carcinoma cell lines and the primary colon carcinoma cell line was affected more than the metastatic cells. Conclusion It is proposed that α-lactalbumin and sulindac can be used in cancer treatments and future in vivo experiments.