Proliferative effect of the phycotoxin domoic acid on cancer cell lines: a preliminary evaluation

Domoic acid (DA) is a neurotoxin that causes amnesic shellfish poisoning. It is produced by algae and accumulates in shellfish. Consumption of these contaminated shellfishes is suspected to produce exceptional health hazards for humans. Effect of DA on cancer cell lines remained unclear. Human endothelial cells EA.hy 927, Human leukaemia K562 cells and monkey kidney Vero cells were used to evaluate the cytotoxicity of DA. Concentrations ranging from 30 to 120 µM of DA and using Neutral Red and MTT assays demonstrated that this neurotoxin undertook promotion of cell proliferation of the three cell lines in a dose-dependent manner in contrast to untreated control cells, after incubation for 72 h. An increase in the percentage of proliferation was induced by a 120 µM of DA. The proliferation of K562 cells is encouraged by DA more than Vero and EA.hy 927 cells. The study highlighted the activity of DA in vitro. This could be taken as reflecting the tumorigenic compound of DA. For establishment of the carcinogenic potential of DA, there is a requirement of further investigations