Investigating the Effect of Alpha-ketoglutarate on Survival and Proliferation of Ovarian Cancer Cells

Ovarian cancer is the third most common cancer in women. Recent studies have shown that Alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) has an important therapeutic role in heart and nervous diseases and cancers. In the curreny study, ovarian cancer cells (OVCAR-3 cell line) were obtained from the University of Tehran at the second passage, and cultured in a complete culture medium (1640 RPMI medium containing 10% FBS and 1% penicillin / streptomycin antibiotic). MTT technique was used to evaluate cellular viability. Also, the doubling time of cell population, colony formation and migration of cells were investigated using appropriate methods. MTT assay showed that treatment of cells with AKG decreases viability in a concentration-dependent manner. Based on the MTT assay results, 120 and 60 μM AKG were selected for the next expreimets. Evaluation of population doubling time showed that both used concentrations significantly reduce cell growth (P<0.05). Colony forming assay showed that 120 and 60 μM of AKG caused a significant decrease in the number of OVCAR-3 colonies (P<0.01). The study of cell migration showed that the treatment of cells with the mentioned concentrations significantly reduces the migration of cells to the scratch area (P<0.01). The results obtained from this study show that AKG reduces the viability of ovarian cancer cells and has anti-proliferative and anti-migratory effects for this cancer cells. It seems that the use of AKG along with other existing treatments can become an helpful approach for better control and treatment of ovarian cancer.