Comparison of in Vitro Cytotoxicity and Apoptogenic Activity of Magnesium Chloride and Cisplatin as Conventional Chemotherapeutic Agents in the MCF-7 Cell Line

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy and also the second leading cause of cancer death among women and also in women that have a high mortality. Previous studies showed that magnesium (Mg) has cytotoxic effects on malignant cell lines. However, the anti-cancer effects of Mg on MCF-7 breast cancer cells are uncertain. This study was aimed at the comparison of the cytotoxic effect of Mg salt (MgCl2) and cisplatin on MCF-7 cells and fibroblasts (as normal cells). After treatment with various concentrations of MgCl2, and cisplatin as a positive control for 24 and 48 hours (h), cytotoxicity activity was measured by MTT assay. In addition, apoptosis was determined by annexin V/propidium iide assay. Both cisplatin and the MgCl2 exhibited dose-dependent cytotoxic effects in the MCF-7 cell line, although the LD50 of the Mg was significantly higher when compared to cispaltin (40 μg/ml vs. 20 μg/ml). Regarding annexin V/propidium results, treatment of MCF-7 cells with LD50 concentrations of cisplatin and Mg showed 59% and 44% apoptosis at 24h, respectively. Finally, the results indicated that Mg has cytotoxic effects on MCF-7 cells, but less than cisplatin as a conventional chemotherapeutic agent. However, regarding the side effects of chemotherapy drugs, it seems that Mg can be considered as a supplement for the treatment of breast cancer.