Abstract
Fibrosarcoma is an aggressive and highly malignant cancer of connective tissue with the lung being the most common site of metastasis. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation are the mainstay of treatments, yet the prognosis is very poor. A number of plant-based phytochemicals are increasingly being used as important treatment methods of cancers. Chlorophyll is a natural pigment that imparts the green color on plants. Chlorophyllin is a water soluble mixture of sodium-copper salts derived from chlorophyll. Chlorophyllin has been studied for its antioxidant potential. In the current study we tested the effects of chlorophyllin in fibrosarcoma HT-1080 cells on cell proliferation by MTT assay, modulation of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression by zymography, cell invasive potential through Matrigel, cell migration by scratch test and morphology and apoptosis by H&E staining. Human fibrosarcoma cells HT-1080 were cultured in the media and were treated with chlorophyllin concentration at 10, 25 and 50 µM. The HT-1080 cell proliferation was significantly decreased at 50 µM dose of chlorophyllin. Expression of both, MMP-2, and MMP-9 decreased in a dose dependent manner. Both the MMPs were significantly inhibited at 25 µM and virtually undetectable at 50 µM. Cell invasion through Matrigel and cell migration was also reduced with the increasing concentrations of chlorophyllin with total inhibition of invasion at 50 µM. H&E staining at 10 µM of chlorophyllin showed a few cellular changes characteristic to apoptosis, while significant changes pertaining to apoptosis morphology were observed with increasing doses of chlorophyllin. Our results suggest that chlorophyllin may be a new chemotherapeutic strategy for fibrosarcoma patients and deserves further investigation as a potential agent in the treatment of this malignancy.