Open AccessIn vitro selective cytotoxicity of the dietary chalcone cardamonin (CD) on melanoma compared to healthy cells is mediated by apoptosis
Author(s) -
Lena Berning,
Lisa Scharf,
Elif Aplak,
David Stucki,
Claudia von Montfort,
Andreas S. Reichert,
Wilhelm Stahl,
Peter Brenneisen
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0222267
Subject(s) - cytotoxicity , apoptosis , chalcone , melanoma , in vivo , in vitro , cytotoxic t cell , viability assay , cancer research , pharmacology , cancer cell , cell , chemistry , biology , cancer , medicine , biochemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , stereochemistry
Malignant melanoma is an aggressive type of cancer and the deadliest form of skin cancer. Even though enormous efforts have been undertaken, in particular the treatment options against the metastasizing form are challenging and the prognosis is generally poor. A novel therapeutical approach is the application of secondary plant constituents occurring in food and food products. Herein, the effect of the dietary chalcone cardamonin, inter alia found in Alpinia species, was tested using human malignant melanoma cells. These data were compared to cardamonin treated normal melanocytes and dermal fibroblasts representing healthy cells. To investigate the impact of cardamonin on tumor and normal cells, it was added to monolayer cell cultures and cytotoxicity, proliferation, tumor invasion, and apoptosis were studied with appropriate cell biological and biochemical methods. Cardamonin treatment resulted in an apoptosis-mediated increase in cytotoxicity towards tumor cells, a decrease in their proliferation rate, and a lowered invasive capacity, whereas the viability of melanocytes and fibroblasts was hardly affected at such concentrations. A selective cytotoxic effect of cardamonin on melanoma cells compared to normal (healthy) cells was shown in vitro . This study along with others highlights that dietary chalcones may be a valuable tool in anticancer therapies which has to be proven in the future in vivo .