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Abstract
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Despite recent improvements in treatment, ovarian cancer is still the leading cause of
death from gynaecological malignancies. Today, marine mollusks are considered as natural
source of new biologically and pharmacologically active compounds by scientists and the
pharmaceutical industries. The aim of this study is to investigate the selective apoptotic effects
of Turbo coronatus crude extract fractions on human epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) cells and
mitochondria. The cells and mitochondria were isolated from cancerous and non-cancerous
ovarian tissues and exposed to IC50 concentration of F1 fraction for evaluation of mitochondrial
and cellular parameters. Our results showed that F1 fraction of T. coronatus crude extract
significantly induced toxic effects only in the cancerous ovarian mitochondria, including
increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, mitochondrial membrane depolarization,
mitochondrial swelling, and cytochrome c release.Flow-cytometry analysis demonstrated that
F1 fraction of T. coronatus progressively induced apoptosis and necrosis only on EOC but not
non-cancerous cells. We eventuallyconcluded that F1 fraction of T. coronatus crude extract
selectively induces apoptosis in EOC through a ROS- mediated pathway.
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