Anticancer Effect of a Novel Palladium-Saccharinate Complex of Terpyridine by Inducing Apoptosis on Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma (EAC) in Balb-C Mice

Background/Aim: [Pd(sac)(terpy)](sac)center dot 4H(2)O (sac=saccharinate and terpy=2,2':6',2 ''-terpyridine) is newly-synthesized palladium(II) (Pd) complex. We investigated the antiproliferative and apoptotic effects of this complex on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC). Materials and Methods: EAC cells were administered to 33 Balb/c mice. Mice were divided randomly into four groups: control, cisplatin. Pd(II) complex and paclitaxel. Control group animals received 0.9% NaCl; other groups received treatments cisplatin, Pd(II) complex and paclitaxel on days 7 and 12. At day 14, animals were sacrificed. Expression of active caspase-3, p53 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) was investigated and apoptosis was evaluated by terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase (TdT)-mediated nick-end labelling (TUNEL) technique. Results: Expression of p53 and PCNA were found to be decreased (p<0.0001), cells with active caspase-3 and TUNEL-positive cells were found to be increased (p<0.0001) in all treatment groups. Conclusion: Like cisplatin and paclitaxel, this Pd(II) complex has a strong anticancer activity against EAC by inducing apoptosis and suppressing proliferation in vivo.