Cell Cycle Arrest related Gene Expression in mRNA Level of Breast Cancer Cell Line MDA-MB-231 Treated with Fungi Symbiont of Marine Sponge Aaptos suberitoides

Cell cycle arrest is a critical aspect of anticancer treatment, as it indicates the inability of cancer cells to continue proliferating. The fungi symbiont of Aaptos suberitoides, identified in this research, has shown potential in cancer treatment. The specific focus was to investigate the potential of this fungi symbiont in inducing cell cycle arrest-related gene expression of AKT-1 and CDK-2 in mRNA level against the triple-negative breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. This research isolated fungi symbionts from the sponge Aaptos suberitoides, conducted in Harapan Island, Kepulauan Seribu, DKI Jakarta. Cell viability was assessed based on the microtetrazolium assay (MTT assay). Gene expression at the mRNA level was quantified using RT-qPCR, and cell cycle analysis was performed using flow cytometry. The result showed that fungal extract 1.2 has the highest cell viability inhibition among other fungi extracts with an IC50 value of 30.46 µg/ml. Fungal extract 1.2 can potentially suppress the expression of CDK-2 and induce cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase. The discovery of fungal extract 1.2's potential has opened opportunities for further research on its promising biological activities, particularly its potential as an anticancer agent.