Study of the synergistic effect of doxorubicin and omega-3 fatty acid supplement on tumoral properties of breast cancer cell line MDA-MB231

Abstract

It has been found that polyunsaturated fatty acids as another group of biological macromolecules with multiple double bonds in their hydrocarbon structure have multiple roles in controlling cancer progression. Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the synergistic effect of doxorubicin with omega-3 fatty acid supplement on tumor characteristics of MDA-MB 231 breast cancer cell line. Mthods In this experimental study, MDA-MB 231 breast cancer cells were treated under standard conditions with IC50 dose of doxorubicin in the presence or absence of omega-3 fatty acid supplement conjugated with albumin for 72 hours and after this period of time, the cells were collected and different characteristics of tumor cells, including self-renewal capability, expression of SCD1 and FASN genes, migration ability and apoptotic nuclei, were analyzed using colony formation assay, Real-Time PCR, scratch assay and DAPI staining, respectively. Results The findings of this study showed that the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) alone and in combination with the doxorubicine significantly decreases the colony formation capability, migration ability and increases apoptosis in MDA-MB231 cells (p<0.05). However, this fatty acid caused a significant increase in the expression of SCD1 and FASN genes, which play an important role in the activity and survival of cancer cells.