Study The Anti-Cancer And Anti-Inflammatory Properties Of Rose Bengal In Vitro

Rose Bengal (RB) has been used as a safe agent in clinical diagnosis. In addition, it is used as a photodynamic sensitizer for removing microorganisms and cancer cells. Recently, its preferential toxicity after direct exposure to cancer cells was proven. The present study focuses on anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activities of RB. Toxicity of RB was studied against AGS gastric cancer and NIH 3T3 fibroblast cell lines using MTT assay. The pattern of cell death was defined using annexin-V and PI staining method. Moreover, the effect of treatment with RB on nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) production induced by lipopolysaccharide in J774A.1 macrophages was determined. Its modulation on inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxegenase-2 (COX-2) expressions was evaluated using western blot analysis. AGS cells exhibited significant concentration-dependent decrease of growth in response to RB however it showed lower growth inhibition in non-malignant cells suggesting that its anti-cancer activity might be tumor cell specific. Moreover, AGS cells exposed to RB presented a significant increase in apoptosis. RB caused a remarkable decrease in the production of NO and expression of iNOS without any significant modulation of PGE 2 production and COX-2 expression. This study suggests that RB preferentially suppress gastric cancer cell growth through the induction of apoptosis, mitigating the further examination of RB in animal models of gastric cancer. In this study, for the first time, we also showed anti-inflammatory effect of RB.