Abstract

CYTOTOXIC ACTIVITY OF THE BIOFLAVONOID MORIN AGAINST HUMAN LEUKEMIC CELLS

Wander Lopes Pereira, Tânia Toledo de Oliveira, Milton Masahiko Kanashiro, Marcelo Augusto Filardi*, Marcelo Rocha da Costa and Liovando Marciano da Costa

ABSTRACT

The present study investigated the possibility of apoptosis-inducing activity in human leukemia U-937 and THP-1 cells by the flavonoid Morin (3, 5, 7, 2 ', 4'-pentahydroxyflavone). With the flavonol treatment in cells U-937 and THP-1 results presented an inhibition of cell growth and induction of cell death which was assessed by using the MTT assay; cell death by apoptosis was confirmed by fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry analysis and by the activity of caspases-3 and -6. The data indicated that the flavonoid Morin has promoted a decrease in cell viability in a concentration-dependent way for both of the cancerous cell lines that were tested. An increase in the percentage of cell death caused by apoptosis was associated to a potential alteration in the mitochondrial membrane (ΔΨm) suggesting the involvement of cell death in intrinsic apoptotic pathways. Activation of caspases-3 and -6 was also evaluated and confirmed the presence of apoptotic activity from Morin. The results suggest that the compound Morin affects the cell viability of cell lines U-937 and THP-1 that were tested, inducing cell death by apoptosis.

Keywords: Leukemia, Cancer cell lines U-937 and THP-1, Apoptosis, Morin, Caspases.