Antitumor Activities Of Copper-Aspirin Complex In Vitro And In Vivo

[Objective] : To investigate the antitumor activities of Cu-Asp(copper-Aspirin complex) both in vitro and in vivo. [Methods] : The cytotoxicity of Cu-Asp for nine human tumor cell lines was tested by modified MTT or SRB assay in vitro. Cu-Asp was administered intragastrically to mice with transplanted sarcoma (S-180). The influence on tumor growth in vivo and its toxicity on mouse main organts were tested.[Results] : l)The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of Cu-Asp for nine human tumor cell lines HL60, K562, HCT-116, TYK, MCF-7, A549, COC1, BIU-87 and BGC-823 was 7.56, 12.05, 12.45, 17.65, 19.14, 19.71, 23.18, 30.15 and 32.60 ug/ml, respectively. 2) Cu-Asp, at the dose of 15.63, 31.25 and 62.50μmol/kg administered intragastrically, obtained the inhibitory rate of 37.84%, 49.96% and 52.27% respectively, while the inhibitory rate of the control 5-Fu (30mg/kg), Asp(62.50umol/kg) and CuSO4 (62.50umol/kg) was 70.87%, 36.30% and 22.93% respectively. The mixture of Asp and CuSO4(l:l at 125 umol/kg) group, produced 27.96% inhibition. All the inhibitory rates of the three doses of Cu-Asp were higher than that of the solvent group(P<0.01), the inhibitory rate of the middle and high doses of Cu-Asp were higher than that of the CuSO4 group or the mixture of Asp and CuSO4 (P<0.01), the inhibitory rate of the high dose group of Cu-Asp was higher than that of the Asp group (P < 0.05). 3) All the three doses of Cu-Asp could inhibit mouse growth and the inhibitory rates of weight were about 10%, while the inhibitory rate of weight in the 5-Fu group was 30.47% (P < 0.01). 4) Compared to the negative control, the Cu-Asp at three doses had no significant difference on the coefficient of main organs (P > 0.05). [ Conclusions ] : 1) Cu-Asp inhibited the growth of several human tumor cell lines in vitro. 2) Compared to Asp, Cu-Asp showed more potent effect ontransplanted SI80.