In Vitro Activity of Biometal(II) Complexes of Monensin Against Virus-Induced Transplantable Animal Tumors

The anticancer properties of monensic acid (MonH) and its complexes with ions of Mg(II), Ca(II), Mn(II) and Co(II) were studied in cultured permanent cell lines originated from virus-induced transplantable tumors in chicken (hepatoma, LSCC-SF-Mc29) and in rat (sarcoma, LSR-SF-SR). The short-term experiments in monolayer adherent cells were performed by thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide (MTT) test (hepatoma and sarcoma cell lines) and neutral red (NR) uptake cytotoxicity assay (sarcoma cell line). The effect of monensin and corresponding complexes on the colony-forming ability of tumor cells was also evaluated. From the results obtained it can be concluded that all compounds significantly decrease the viability and proliferation of the treated cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, with metal(II) complexes being more effective than the non-coordinated ligand.