Influence of sodium butyrate on hepatocellular carcinoma (hepG2) and glioblastoma (C6) cell lines in vitro.

Hepatocellular carcinoma and glioblastoma are both very aggressive forms of human neoplasms. The most effective treatment includes the combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Sodium butyrate (NaB) demonstrates a high efficiency and low toxicity. It inhibits proliferation and cell cycle of the cancer cells. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of sodium butyrate on HepG2 and C6 cell line viability. Hepatocellular cancer (HepG2) and glioblastoma cell line (C6) were cultured in DMEM/Ham's F12 medium with 10% FBS and antibiotics. Different NaB concentrations (0-10 mM) were tested. The control consisted of cells without tested substance. The incubation times were 24 and 48 h. Cell viability was studied using Trypan Blue exclusion test. Inhibitory influence of sodium butyrate on cell viability in both examined cell lines was confirmed. Strong correlation between NaB concentration and cell viability after 24 h was noticed (correlation coefficient was 0.94 and 0.98 for C6 and HepG2, respectively). IC50 values after 24 h were 8.44 mM and 6.17 mM for C6 and HepG2, respectively. The strongest effect was observed after 48 h of incubation with NaB. IC50 values were 3.44 mM and 1.47 mM for C6 and HepG2 (correlation coefficients after 48 h were 0.91 and 0.631 for C6 and HepG2, respectively). C6 line was more resistant to NaB than HepG2. Both cell lines were sensitive to NaB treatment, which gives the promise that NaB can be used against broader spectrum of neoplasms in the future.