Adhesion behavior and functional studies on normal and tumoral cells exposed to Aristolochia clematitis aqueous extracts

• Main Authors: Mirabela Cristea, Alexandra Gruia, Florina Bojin, Elena Gai, Moica Violeta, Florina Boldeanu, Gabriela Tanasie, Virgil Paunesch
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University of Iași 2010-06-01
• Series: Analele Ştiinţifice Ale Universităţii Alexandru Ioan Cuza din Iași,Sectiunea II A : Genetica si Biologie Moleculara
• Online Access: http://www.gbm.bio.uaic.ro/index.php/gbm/article/view/753

Aristolochia clematitis, member of the Aristolochiaceae family is a medicinal plant used from immemorial time in folkloric medicine to succesfully treats various ailments, from snake bites to cancer. Recently Aristolochia plant use as a natural or pharmacologic remedy was banned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), because it contains aristolochic acids, carcinogenic and nephrotoxic compounds. The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of different concentrations of Aristolochia clematitis aqueous extract on human breast adenocarcinoma cell lines (MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468), tumor-associated fibroblasts (TAFs), and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Viability and proliferation MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay, and a flow chamber adhesion assay were used in order to test the adhesion capacity of TAFs and MSCs treated with A. clematitis extracts on MDA-MB-231 or MDA-MB-468 cellular coatings. Our studies demonstrated a significant inhibitory effect of A. clematitis extracts on the viability and function of normal cells (MSCs) compared to tumor cells