In Vitro Antitumor Activity of Endophytic Fungi Isolated From the Mexican Cactus Pachycereus Marginatus (DC.) Britton & Ros

Abstract

Background: Arid zone plants such as cacti are known to harbor diverse groups of endophytic fungi, which represent potential sources of new compounds with anticancer properties. In the present study we isolated, identified, and characterized Pachycereus marginatus (DC.) Britton & Ros endophytic fungi with cytotoxic activity against murine and human tumor cell lines.Methods: Endophytic fungi were isolated from P. marginatus stems. Methanol extracts were then obtained from fungi liquid cultures and their cytotoxic activity at concentrations ranging from 31 µg/ml to 250 µg/ml against murine L5178Y-R lymphoma, human colorectal adenocarcinoma HT-29, and human breast cancer MCF-7 was evaluated by the colorimetric 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide reduction assay, using the normal cells Macacus rhesus monkey epitelial kidney MA-104 and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) as controls. IC50 values were obtained and the selectivity index (SI) was calculated from the IC50 ratio of cancer cells and normal cells. Furthermore, molecular identification of fungi showing cytotoxic activity was determined by the internal transcribed spacer molecular marker.Results: The Cladosporium sp. PME-H008 strain showed significant (P < 0.01) 94.3% and 36.8% cytotoxicity against L5178Y-R and HT-29 cells, respectively. The highest SI was observed by L5178Y-R cells with 2.4 and 2.9 for MA-104 and PBMC respectively. In addition, the Metarhizium anisopliae PME-H007 strain was more effective against MCF-7 with 55.8% cytotoxicity. The lowest IC50 was obtained with the Aspergillus sp. PME-H005 strain at 95.21 µg/ml against the MCF-7 cell line, followed by PME-H008 strain at 101 µg/ml against L5178Y-R cells.Conclusion: P. marginatus endophytic fungi showed in vitro cytotoxic activity against murine and human tumor cell lines, without affecting normal cells.