Antiproliferative Effects of Olanzapine against MCF-7 Cells and Its Molecular Interactions with Survivin

Abstract

Background: Epidemiologic findings revealed approximately one-third of patients with breast cancer develop brain metastases. Recent research has found that schizophrenia patients who take antipsychotic medications on a long-term basis have a decreased risk of cancers than normal individuals. This serendipitous anticancer action of antipsychotic medications is now being investigated by many studies. The ability of these drugs to penetrate the blood–brain barrier may target brain metastases. We investigated antiproliferative activity of antipsychotic drug. The present study aimed to determine the antiproliferative effects of olanzapine against MCF-7 cells and also to examine its molecular interactions with survivin. Methods: The antiproliferative effects of olanzapine were demonstrated using MTT assay and molecular interactions were analyzed using AutoDock Vina ver4.0 between olanzapine (PubChem CID − 135398745) and survivin (PDB ID − 1E31). These molecular interactions were also compared with tamoxifen (PubChem CID: 2733526). Results: We found that olanzapine has extensive antiproliferative effects against MCF-7 human breast cancer cells, with an IC50 of 10.9 g/mL. We also discovered that olanzapine had possible interactions with the survivin protein at Lys15, Phe86, and Val89 amino acid residues, which could be related to effects of olanzapine on MCF-7 cell viability. Conclusion: Our research establishes that olanzapine has promising anticancer properties against breast tumors, with prospective application to target brain metastases in patients with breast cancer.