Glioma is the most common and malignant type of primary brain tumor. The prognosis for the burdened patients depends on their age, performance status, and tumor stage. However, most cases, even with low malignancy, have a poor survival rate with optimal therapy.
Currently, the management of glioma is challenging and requires multidisciplinary treatment.
Nearly two-thirds of gliomas are highly malignant lesions, which account for a disproportionate share of the morbidity and mortality associated with brain tumors.[1]
The aim of the study was to determine the toxicity of 20% flaxseed oil ester emulsions, with different final concentrations from 0.2% to 5%, against 5 types of glial tumor.
A Glioma Tumor Cell Panel TCP-1018TM consisting of 5 glial tumor cell lines of varying genetic complexity was used for the study. HTB-14 cell line with epithelial morphology, isolated from a malignant glioma from a male patient; A172 cell line isolated from brain tissue from a male patient; HTB-15 cell line with mixed morphology, isolated from a 50-year-old man with stage IV glioma; HTB-12 astrocytoma cell line isolated from a 72-year-old man; and HTB-148 neuroglioma cell line isolated from a 37-year-old man.
The experiments were carried out using 20% linseed oil ester emulsions with final concentrations ranging from 0.2% to 5%. After 24 h of incubation, the SRB assay (sulforhodamine B assay) used to assess cell proliferation based on measurement of cellular protein content was performed. The test was performed according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) recommendations. This was followed by analysis using LIVE/DEAD fluorescent staining to determine cell viability.
The performed experiment proved that the emulsion showed high activity on all cell lines. It had the strongest cytotoxic effect on cancer cells of the HTB-14, SW 1088 and A172 cell lines, for the HTB-15 line only at its highest concentration. The results suggest that the tested emulsion at the lowest concentrations causes cytostatic effect, while at higher concentrations it causes cytotoxic effect, in other words, leads to apoptosis or necrosis of the cell.