Induction of Bax and Caspase-3 Genes Expression by Simultaneous Administration of Phycocyanin and Citrullus Colocynthis Extract in Human Colorectal Cell Line (HT-29)

Introduction: In this study the effect of C. colocynthis extract and phycocyanin on the growth of colon cancer cells, and the expression of Caspase 3 and Bax were investigated.Materials Methods: colon cancer cells (HT29) were treated with different concentrations of C. colocynthis and phycocyanin extracts for 24, 48 72 hours. The percentage of cell survival was then measured by MTT assay. Expression of Caspase 3 and Bax genes was investigated by real-time PCR. At the end results were analyzed by SPSS software.Results: Significant differences were observed in the average percentage of dead cells with 2 to 30 g/μL concentration of extract, phycocyanin, extract + phycocyanin after 24, 48 and 72 hours (p 0.05). The combination of extract and phycocyanin as well as phycocyanin alone showed stronger inhibitory effects on growth of cancer cells compared to extract (p 0.05). The expression of Bax gene was significantly increased by treatment of combination of extract and phycocyanin (2.55-fold) and also C. colocynthis extract alone (1.67-fold) (p 0.01). In addition, the combination of extract and phycocyanin and Abujahl watermelon extract significantly increased the expression of caspase 3 gene (2.15 and 1.75), respectively (p 0.01).Conclusion: The anticancer effect of Citrullus Colocynthis extract, as well as phycocyanin can be applied by increase the expression of Bax and caspase 3 genes and as a result, apoptosis induction in cancer cells.