Anti-cancer effects of boron derivatives on non-small cell lung cancer

Lung cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer globally, with 2.5 million new cases representing 12.4 % of the total number of new cases. Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are two main subtypes of lung cancer that have different growth and dissemination capacities. Treatment options for lung cancer include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy, including Bortezomib, an FDA-approved boron-derived agent. To bring novel boron-containing compounds to the armamentarium of lung cancer therapy, this study aimed to unravel the anti-cancer potential of Boric Acid (BA) and Sodium pentaborate pentahydrate (NaB) on Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer cell line A549. According to the results, the survival rates of A549 cells decreased after BA and NaB treatments by 5.5-fold and 5.2-fold, respectively. The number of colony-forming units was reduced by 3-fold and 2.4-fold after BA and NaB treatments, respectively. Gene expressions and protein levels of some pro-apoptotic and tumor suppressor genes were upregulated and some anti-apoptotic genes were downregulated. Cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase was detected after treatment with both boron. Proliferation markers Ki-67 and PCNA, and checkpoint regulators CDK1 and CDK2 gene expression levels were downregulated after BA and NaB treatments in the A549 cells. Our findings point to a promising selective anti-cancer activity of BA and NaB in the A549 cells without exerting any adverse effects on normal cells. Further in vitro and in vivo studies are required to get detailed information about the anti-cancer mechanism of BA, and NaB on lung cancer.