Induction of Apoptosis by extract of Persian Gulf Marine Mollusk, Turbo coronatus through the ROS-Mediated Mitochondrial Targeting on Human Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Cells

Despite recent improvements in treatment, ovarian cancer is still the leading cause of death from gynaecological malignancies. Today, marine mollusks are considered as natural source of new biologically and pharmacologically active compounds by scientists and the pharmaceutical industries. The aim of this study is to investigate the selective apoptotic effects of Turbo coronatus crude extract fractions on human epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) cells and mitochondria. Cells and mitochondria were isolated from cancerous and non-cancerous ovarian tissues and exposed to IC50 concentration of F1 fraction for evaluation of mitochondrial and cellular parameters. Our results showed that F1 fraction of T. coronatus crude extract significantly induced toxic effects only in the cancerous ovarian mitochondria, including; increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, mitochondrial membrane depolarization, mitochondrial swelling and cytochrome c release. Flow-cytometry analysis demonstrated that F1 fraction of T. coronatus progressively induced apoptosis and necrosis only on EOC but not non-cancerous cells. We eventually concluded that F1 fraction of T. coronatus crude extract selectively induces apoptosis in EOC through a ROS- mediated pathway.