Abstract
BackgroundBreast cancer is the most fatal malignant cancer among women, the conventional therapeutic modalities of it are limited. Morusin possesses cytotoxicity against some cancer cells in vitro. The purpose of this study is to test the growth inhibition effect of morusin on human breast cancer growth in vitro and in vivo and to explore the potential mechanism of its action.MethodsThe growth inhibition effect of morusin on human breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo were tested by cell cytotoxicity, colony formation inhibition, adipogenic differentiation, apoptosis induction, and tumor growth inhibition in vivo assays. The potential molecular mechanisms underlying the growth inhibition effect of morusin on human breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo were investigated with Western blotting evaluation of expression levels of transcription factors, C/EBPβ and PPARγ, adipogenic and apoptotic proteins in morusin treated breast cancer cells and tumor tissues.ResultsMorusin inhibited breast cancer cells growth in vitro and in vivo; it induced adipogenic differentiation, apoptosis and lipoapoptosis of cancer cells.ConclusionsMorusin has the potential to inhibit human breast cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo through C/EBPβ and PPARγ mediated lipoapoptosis.
Highlights
Breast cancer is the most fatal malignant cancer among women, the conventional therapeutic modalities of it are limited
Breast cancer patients with estrogen receptor positive (ER+) have a better outcome after endocrine therapy, one-third of them are not sensitive to Tamoxifen, and the rest of them have a risk of relapse
The identification of effective chemopreventive agents and development of neoadjuvant chemotherapies with alternative strategic options are crucial for ER+ breast cancer and Triple Negative Breast Cancer” (TNBC) [8,9,10,11]
Summary
Breast cancer is the most fatal malignant cancer among women, the conventional therapeutic modalities of it are limited. The purpose of this study is to test the growth inhibition effect of morusin on human breast cancer growth in vitro and in vivo and to explore the potential mechanism of its action. Despite the significant advances in breast cancer treatment modalities and improvement of patients’ survival and quality of life in recent decades, its incidence and mortality are increasing steadily, especially in developing countries [1,2,3]. The conventional therapeutic strategies such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy are limited treatment options for breast cancer. The identification of effective chemopreventive agents and development of neoadjuvant chemotherapies with alternative strategic options are crucial for ER+ breast cancer and TNBC [8,9,10,11]. Previous investigations revealed natural products process anticancer activity and selectivity of anti-cancer agents [12, 13], flavonoids provide a diversity of anticancer compounds which can be used for breast cancer prevention and/or treatment [14]
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