Orobanche crenata Forssk. Extract Affects Human Breast Cancer Cell MCF-7 Survival and Viral Replication

Carlo Genovese; Adriana Garozzo; Floriana D'Angeli; Giuseppe Antonio Malfa; Francesco Bellia; Barbara Tomasello; Daria Nicolosi; Roberta Malaguarnera; Simone Ronsisvalle; Fiorella Guadagni; Rosaria Acquaviva

doi:10.3390/cells11101696

Orobanche crenata Forssk. Extract Affects Human Breast Cancer Cell MCF-7 Survival and Viral Replication

Cells. 2022 May 19;11(10):1696. doi: 10.3390/cells11101696.

Authors

Carlo Genovese^{1

2}, Adriana Garozzo³, Floriana D'Angeli⁴, Giuseppe Antonio Malfa^{5

6}, Francesco Bellia⁷, Barbara Tomasello^{5

6}, Daria Nicolosi^{2

8}, Roberta Malaguarnera¹, Simone Ronsisvalle^{2

9}, Fiorella Guadagni^{4

10}, Rosaria Acquaviva^{2

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, "Kore" University of Enna, Contrada Santa Panasia, 94100 Enna, Italy.
² Nacture S.r.l., Spin-Off University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy.
³ Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Microbiology Section, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy.
⁴ Department of Human Sciences and Quality of Life Promotion, San Raffaele Roma Open University, 00166 Rome, Italy.
⁵ Department of Drug and Health Sciences, Biochemistry Section, University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy.
⁶ Research Centre on Nutraceuticals and Health Products (CERNUT), University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy.
⁷ Institute of Crystallography, National Research Council (CNR), 95126 Catania, Italy.
⁸ Department of Drug and Health Sciences, Microbiology Section, University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy.
⁹ Department of Drug and Health Sciences, Medicinal Chemistry Section, University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy.
¹⁰ BioBIM (InterInstitutional Multidisciplinary Biobank), IRCCS San Raffaele Pisana, 00166 Rome, Italy.

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of death worldwide. The severity of BC strictly depends on the molecular subtype. The less aggressive hormone-positive subtype is treated with adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET), which causes both physical and psychological side effects. This condition strongly impacts the adherence and persistence of AET among oncologic patients. Moreover, viral infections also constitute a serious problem for public health. Despite their efficacy, antiviral agents present several therapeutic limits. Accordingly, in the present work, we investigated the antitumor and antiviral activities of Orobanche crenata Forssk. (O. crenata), a parasitic plant, endemic to the Mediterranean basin, traditionally known for its beneficial properties for human health.

Methods: The MTT assay was carried out to evaluate the cytotoxic effect of O. crenata leaf extract (OCLE) on human breast cancer cells (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) and the primary HFF-1 cell line. The lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) assay was performed on MCF-7 cells to analyze necrotic cell death. The antioxidant effect of OCLE was evaluated by intracellular determination of the reactive oxygen species and thiol groups, by DPPH and ABTS assays. The antiviral activity of OCLE was determined against Poliovirus 1, Echovirus 9, Human respiratory syncytial virus, Adenovirus type 2 and type 5, Coxsackievirus B1 (CoxB1) and B3 (CoxB3), Herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2), and β-Coronavirus by the plaque reduction assay.

Results: The extract, after 24 h of incubation, did not affect MDA-MB-231 and HFF-1 cell viability. However, at the same time point, it showed a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on MCF-7 cells, with an increase in LDH release. OCLE exhibited free radical scavenging activity and significantly increased non-protein thiol levels in MCF-7 cells. OCLE effectively inhibited HSV-1, HSV-2, CoxB1, and CoxB3 replication.

Conclusions: The overall results showed an interesting inhibitory effect of OCLE on both MCF-7 cell survival and viral replication.

Keywords: Coxsackievirus; Herpes simplex virus; MCF-7 cells; MDA-MB-231 cells; Orobanche crenata extract; parasitic plant.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Antiviral Agents / therapeutic use
Breast Neoplasms* / drug therapy
Female
Herpesvirus 1, Human* / physiology
Humans
MCF-7 Cells
Orobanche*
Plant Extracts / chemistry
Plant Extracts / pharmacology
Sulfhydryl Compounds / pharmacology
Virus Replication

Substances

Antiviral Agents
Plant Extracts
Sulfhydryl Compounds

Grants and funding

This work was partially supported by Grants from the European Social Fund PO FESR 2014–2020 Sicily Region Action 1.1.5, NUVACAL BC (CUP G88I18000710007).