The effect of metronidazole on the viability of CAl-27 tongue cancer cells

Abstract

Metronidazole belongs to the most commonly prescribed medications for bacterial and parasitic infections worldwide. It is also used in perioperative prevention prior to bowel, and head and neck surgeries. Despite the fact that the World Health Organization has placed it on its List of Essential Medicines, it is considered potentially carcinogenic. A great number of research studies have been conducted to clarify this issue, but the results are inconclusive. None of the studies focused on the influence of metronidazole on oral cancer development. The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of metronidazole on the viability of tongue cancer cells. The research was conducted on the tongue squamous cell carcinoma cell line (CAL-27). Metronidazole dissolved in growth medium was applied to the cell culture at concentrations: 1, 10, 50, 100 µg/mL. Toxicity of the drug was evaluated by MTT assay and the [3H]-thymidine incorporation test. The MTT test revealed a significant increase in cell viability under the influence of metronidazole after 24 h, at the highest concentration of the drug (100 µg/mL), but had no impact on cell viability at other concentrations and after 48 h and 72 h. The results of the [3H]-thymidine incorporation test did not show significant results. Summarizing, metronidazole stimulates the viability of tongue squamous cell carcinoma cells according to its concentration and the time of incubation (results significant at the concentration 100 µg/mL, after 24 h of incubation).