Dermaseptin B2’s Anti-Proliferative Activity and down Regulation of Anti-Proliferative, Angiogenic and Metastatic Genes in Rhabdomyosarcoma RD Cells in Vitro

Background: Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is the most prevalent soft tissue sarcoma in children, representing approximately 50% of pediatric sarcomas and can develop in any part of the body though more frequently at the extremities. Aim: Evaluating the in vitro anti-proliferative activity of Dermaseptin B2 on Rhabdomyosarcoma RD (CCL-136TM) cells and its effect on the expression of MYC, FGFR1, NOTCH1, and CXCR7 genes involve in processes including proliferation, angiogenesis and metastasis. Methods: RD cells were grown in Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle’s Medium supplemented with 10% Fetal Bovine Serum. Exponentially growing cells were treated with Dermaseptin B2 and Antiproliferative activity was assayed using the resazurin and migration assays at three time-points. In order to determine the gene expression profiles of MYC, NOTCH1, FGFR1 FGFR1 (fc; 2.3515, 2.0809, 2.2543), NOTCH1 (fc; 2.4667, 4.6274, 4.3352) genes for the three-time points respectively. NOTCH1 and CXCR7 showed higher fold changes with respect to β-Actin than MYC and FGFR1. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that Dermaseptin B2 is a target molecule for signaling pathways including PI3K/AKT, RTK and NOTCH pathways that could affect the transcription of these genes and overall inhibition of cancer progression. Further studies are needed to give a better understanding of the detailed mechanisms of action as well as the effects of the Dermaseptin B2 peptide in vivo.