Effects of Usnic Acid on Cytotoxicity, Colony Formation and Migration in SK-UT-1 Human Uterine Leiomyosarcoma Cells

Usnic acid (UA) is a common lichenic secondary metabolite with therapeutic potential. Anticancer, antimicrobial, and antioxidant effects have been demonstrated and UA-enriched extracts are often used to treat various diseases in traditional medicine. First, we performed a viability assay of UA in human uterine leiomyosarcoma (SK-UT-1) since no in vitro cytotoxicity data have been reported so far. For this purpose, the cytotoxicity of UA on SK-UT-1 and embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells was studied at 24 and 48 hours. The toxicity of UA was investigated by the MTT test. In addition, we assessed UA colony formation and migration properties against SK-UT-1 cells in 6-well plates. Our results showed a significant cytotoxic effect of UA at the 5.34 µM; UA was also effective against colony formation ability and wound healing assay. In conclusion, our study suggests that UA exerts anti-proliferative effects on SK-UT-1 cells by inducing cell death. Moreover, our results suggest that the potential anticancer activities of UA should be further studied by additional molecular biological approaches.