« Back to Farmacia Journal 6/2015

ANTIPROLIFERATIVE EFFECTS OF A NOVEL MANGANESE MITOCHONDRIAL TARGETED COMPLEX

BOGDAN ALEXANDRU STOICA¹, TUDOR PETREUS^2*, OANA CIOANCA³, MONICA HANCIANU³

Download Full Article PDF

Curcumin, an active compound with multiple anti-cancer properties, is able to form organo-metallic complexes which exhibit superoxide dismutase like properties when complexed with manganese ions. The mitochondrial selectivity of a curcuminmanganese derivative in cancer cells could be accomplished by the addition of a triphenylphosphonium (TPP) radical. In this study, a TPP-manganese-curcumin complex was synthesized and assayed on three malignant human cell lines (melanoma, colon adenocarcinoma and osteosarcoma). Cell viability was evaluated and IC50 was determined for each cell line, including a control fibroblast line. For each cell line, the presence of manganese and TPP radical in the complex has improved the cytotoxic effects. Interestingly, the presence of TPP radical has reduced the cytotoxicity only for the normal fibroblasts. The leading mechanism for cytotoxic effects seems to be a redox one, since the presence of glutathione reduced the effects and inhibition of intracellular glutathione synthesis increased the toxicity.