Promising anticancer activity of batumin: a natural polyene antibiotic produced by Pseudomonas batumici

Aim: To determine the computer-predicted anticancer activity of antibiotic batumin. Materials & methods: Cytotoxicity assays, cell morphology microscopy and cell cycle progression were studied in cancer and nontumorigenic cell lines. An in vivo experiment on Lewis lung carcinoma (3LL)-transplanted mice was conducted to evaluate potential antimetastatic. Results & conclusion: Cytotoxicity against melanoma and lung carcinoma cells (IC50 ≈ 5 μg/ml) was detected. Hypercondensed chromatin and apoptotic body formation in batumin-treated cells suggested the induction of apoptosis supported also by an observed increase in the quantity of cells occupying the sub-G1 cell cycle phase. Twofold reduction in the number and volume of lung metastases in Lewis lung carcinoma (3LL)-bearing batumin-treated mice was demonstrated. Highly specific cytotoxicity of batumin against cancer cell lines potentiates further studies.