Evernic Acid: A Low-Toxic and Selective Alternative to Chemotherapeutic Agents in the Treatment of Ovarian Cancer

Evernic acid (EA) has emerged as a potential therapeutic agent with its low toxicity and anticancer properties. In this study, the anticancer effect of EA on ovarian cancer cell lines and normal ovarian surface epithelial cells (OSE) was evaluated. The antiproliferative effect of EA was evaluated by xCELLigence Real-Time Cell analysis, colony formation assay, and acridine orange and DAPI staining methods. Genotoxicity analysis was performed by comet assay. The effect of EA on cell migration was analyzed by wound healing assay. The potential of EA to induce apoptosis was also determined by evaluating the changes in gene and protein expression levels by qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis, respectively. EA was found to be a promising potential therapeutic agent for ovarian cancer without showing significant cytotoxic effect on normal cells. Furthermore, EA decreased the ability of ovarian cancer cells for migration, increased the rate of apoptosis by inhibiting BIRC5 and activating CASP3, triggered cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase, and caused a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential and genotoxic effects. The results have shown that EA could be an effective candidate molecule for ovarian cancer treatment.