Effect of 15d-PGJ2 on proliferation, viability and oxidative stress of an oral squamous cell carcinoma cell line in vitro

Abstract

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the 6th commonest malignant neoplasm in Brazil. Current treatment includes surgery and/or radiotherapy. Overall 5-year survival is 50%. 15d-PGJ2 is a prostaglandin (PG) of the J2 series, which differs from other PG by an electrophilic carbonyl group on the cyclepentenone ring. This confers this molecule its anti-inflammatory and anti-tumour properties, which has been considerably investigated in the literature. Nonetheless, there are only very few reports on its therapeutic effect on OSCC cells. 15d-PGJ2 is capable of generating oxidative stress (OS) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, thus increasing the expression of antioxidant enzymes in an attempt to reduce the deleterious effects of ROS. Peroxiredoxins (Prx) are amongst the commonest of such enzymes. Conversely, overexpression of such proteins is associated with a lack of redox balance in favour of ROS accumulation, which could trigger apoptotic signalling. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate in vitro the effect of 15d-PGJ2 on OSCC cells in terms of proliferation, viability and mRNA expression of Prx1 and Prx4. (AU)