Does usnic acid affect microtubules in human cancer cells?

Usnic acid, a lichen metabolite, is known to exert antimitotic and antiproliferative activities against normal and malignant human cells. Many chemotherapy agents exert their activities by blocking cell cycle progression, inducing cell death through apoptosis. Microtubules, protein structure involve...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brazilian journal of biology 2010-08, Vol.70 (3), p.659-664
Main Authors: O'Neill, M A, Mayer, M, Murray, K E, Rolim-Santos, H M L, Santos-Magalhães, N S, Thompson, A M, Appleyard, V C L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antimitotic Agents - pharmacology
Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacology
Benzofurans - pharmacology
BIOLOGY
Breast Neoplasms - pathology
Cell Line, Tumor - drug effects
câncer de mama
câncer de pulmão
Female
Humans
Lung Neoplasms - pathology
Microtubules - drug effects
microtúbulos
Paclitaxel - pharmacology
Vincristine - pharmacology
ácido úsnico
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Summary:Usnic acid, a lichen metabolite, is known to exert antimitotic and antiproliferative activities against normal and malignant human cells. Many chemotherapy agents exert their activities by blocking cell cycle progression, inducing cell death through apoptosis. Microtubules, protein structure involved in the segregation of chromosomes during mitosis, serve as chemotherapeutical targets due to their key role in cellular division as well as apoptosis. The aim of this work was to investigate whether usnic acid affects the formation and/or stabilisation of microtubules by visualising microtubules and determining mitotic indices after treatment. The breast cancer cell line MCF7 and the lung cancer cell line H1299 were treated with usnic acid 29 microM for 24 hours and two positive controls: vincristine (which prevents the formation of microtubules) or taxol (which stabilizes microtubules). Treatment of MCF7 and H1299 cells with usnic acid did not result in any morphological changes in microtubules or increase in the mitotic index. These results suggest that the antineoplastic activity of usnic acid is not related to alterations in the formation and/or stabilisation of microtubules.
ISSN:1519-6984
1678-4375
1678-4375
DOI:10.1590/S1519-69842010005000013