A comparative study on cytotoxicity and apoptotic activity of pyocyanin produced by wild type and mutant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Nutrient agar medium with various concentrations of cefotaxime was used for isolation spontaneous mutants from wild type strain of P.aeruginosa PHA-1. Eighty-two mutants were successfully isolated with the viable count 52×107, these mutants were confirmed as spontaneous not physiological adaption mutants by reculture on the same medium. Then, wild type PHA-1 and mutants were examined for production pyocyanin; a blue greenish pigment was clearly noticed on King A medium. Remarkably the mutant strain named S300-8 was distinguished in productivity in comparison with wild type strain PHA-1; the amount of pigment was 56.0667mg/l and 74.53mg/l respectively. In addition, pyocyanin produced by mutant strain S300-8 revealed a potent efficacy against growth of cancer cell line RD; the low concentration of this pigment caused 65% of dead cells after 72hrs of incubation whereas the cytotoxicity was improved by increasing the concentration of pigment with period of exposure time. Moreover, pyocyanin from mutant strain S300-8 induced apoptosis more than wild type PHA-1; the percentage of DNA fragmentation in RD cell was 80% and 73.3% respectively