Colostrinina como agente modulador da atividade de fagócitos do colostro humano em co-cultura com células tumorais de câncer de mama (MCF-7)

Abstract

Cancer is a malignant neoplasm that comprises several different pathologies, responsible for the highest mortality rate in the world, and in women, breast cancer is the most incident and deadly, especially due to changes in its etiology, there is a need for more economical and safer treatment alternatives. There is evidence that breastfeeding protects against breast tumors, but the protective mechanisms involved in this process still require scientific investigation. It is known that the bioactive factors of breast milk, especially colostrum, are essential in the immunological development and healthy growth of the newborn, in addition to offering countless other advantages for the mother. Colostrinin (CLN) is a proline-rich polypeptide (PRP) isolated from mammalian colostrum with therapeutic potential for neurodegenerative disorders and inflammatory diseases, just like câncer. So, the objective of the present work was to evaluate the effects of CLN on the activity of human colostrum phagocytes in co-culture with mammary adenocarcinoma tumor cells (MCF-7). For that, 8 samples of colostrum were collected from clinically healthy women, residing in Barra do Garças/MT, to obtain mononuclear cells (MN). Assays were performed using experimental groups, containing MN cells and MCF-7 cells, with or without CLN stimulation (tests and controls). Samples of isolated and co-cultured cells were incubated at 37ºC with 5% CO2, for 2 and 24 hours, until cell viability analysis by fluorescence microscopy. There was a significant decrease in the viability of MCF-7 cells in co-culture with phagocytes in the CLN treatment, as well as the number of viable tumor cells was lower in the presence of CLN (in both incubation periods), with no evidence of toxicity of the stimulus on the MN. Therefore, CLN promoted the modulation of phagocyte activity and indicated that it has antitumor effect, suggesting that additional studies related to its immunomodulation and mechanisms of action on tumor cells should be carried out.