Bovine lactoferrin and lactoferrin peptides affect endometrial and cervical cancer cell lines
Cervical, uterine and ovarian cancers are the most common malignancies of the female genital tract worldwide. In spite of advances in prevention, early diagnosis, effective screening, and treatment programs, mortality remains high. Consequently, it is important to search for new treatments. The activity of bovine Lactoferrin (bLF) and LF-peptides against several types of cancer has been studied, however, there are only a few studies reporting the effect of bLF and LF-peptides against cervical and endometrial cancers. In this study, we explored the effect of bLF, LFchimera and its constituent peptides LFcin17-30 and LFampin265-284 on the viability of cervical (HeLa, SiHa) and endometrial (KLE, HEC-1A) cancer cell lines. Cell proliferation was quantified with an MTT assay; cell morphological changes and damage were determined by Giemsa and phalloidin-TRITC and DAPI staining; and apoptotic and necrotic cells were identified by Alexa Fluor® 488 Annexin V and PI staining. Additionally, the effect of combinations of bLF and LF-peptides with cisplatin was assessed. BLF and LF-peptides inhibited the proliferation of uterine cancer cells and caused cellular morphological changes and damage to cell monolayers. BLF induced apoptosis; LFcin17-30 and LFampin265-284 induced apoptosis and necrosis, and LFchimera induced necrosis. Additionally, bLF and LFchimera showed an additive interaction with cisplatin against uterine cancer cells.