Acriflavine suppresses the growth of human osteosarcoma cells through apoptosis and autophagy

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of acriflavine on viability and induction of apoptosis and autophagy in human osteosarcoma cell lines MG63. Inhibition of cell proliferation by acriflavine was determined using MTT assay. Induction of apoptosis was examined by measuring the changes in expression of Bcl-2 and Bax in messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein levels. Identification of the proteolytic cleavage of poly (ADP)-ribose polymerase (PARP) and caspase-3 and caspase-9 was carried out to study apoptotic cell death. Autophagic effects were examined by quantitation of mRNA expression of autophagy protein 5 (Atg5) and Beclin1 and identifying accumulation of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3)-II. The results showed acriflavine inhibited cell proliferation of osteosarcoma cells in dose-dependent fashion. Acriflavine-induced cell death was attributed to both apoptosis and autophagy. Moreover, it was associated with changes in the levels of Bcl-2 and Bax in the osteosarcoma cells. The antiseptic agent, acriflavine, has anticancer potential through synergistic activity of apoptosis and autophagy.