Abstract

AN IN VITRO STUDY OF MODULATORY EFFECTS OF SODIUM BICARBONATE ON HUMAN COLON ADENOCARCINOMA CELL (CACO-2)

Antoine Al-Achi* and Ravi Teja Meduri

ABSTRACT

Sodium bicarbonate is a common buffer and systemic alkalizer. It has been widely used in cancer chemotherapy as an adjuvant to protect against toxic effects of harmful radiations and cytotoxic drugs. Recent studies on sodium bicarbonate suggest a potential antitumor activity for the drug by manipulation of acidic environment of the solid tumors. This research is aimed at studying the role of sodium bicarbonate in tumor growth and proliferation. This study hypothesizes that sodium bicarbonate has a modulatory effect on Caco-2 cells by manipulating the pH of the solid tumors. Caco-2 cells are adenocarcinomas that differentiate into monolayers of enterocytes. They are widely used models for understanding intestinal transport of drugs. The Caco-2 cells were cultured in DMEM media with 10 % FBS and treated with sodium bicarbonate in concentrations within a range of 0.1M to 0.8M. The MTT and LDH cytotoxicity assays were performed on these cells and the extent of cell damage was measured by absorbance readings using a microplate reader. The results of the MTT and LDH assay were in agreement with each other. The sodium bicarbonate had significant cytotoxic effect on caco-2 cells when compared to the untreated control mainly at a concentration of 0.2 M and above. However, it could not be confirmed if the cytotoxic effect of sodium bicarbonate could be attributed to a rise in pH of the surrounding environment of the cells. Further investigation is necessary to understand the mode of action of sodium bicarbonate on these cells.

Keywords: Microplate, MTT, LDH.