title: Chemopreventive effects of Ginkgo biloba extract in estrogen-negative human breast cancer cells.
abstract: Excessive level of estrogen is considered as a main cause of breast cancer, therefore, many studies have focused on estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer, even though ER-negative cancer has a poor prognosis than ER-positive breast cancer. We evaluated the anti-cancer effects of Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) in estrogen-independent breast cancer. GBE has been traditionally used as a platelet activating factor, a circulatory stimulant, a tonic, and anti-asthmatic drug, and anti-cancer agent. However, anti-cancer effects of GBE on ER-negative breast cancer have not been proved yet. In this study, we tested chemotherapeutic potential of GBE in the MDA-MB-231 (ER-negative) human breast cancer cell line. Our results showed that cytotoxicity effects of GBE in MDA-MB-231 lead to DNA fragmentation at high concentrations (500 and 1,000 μg/ml). Caspase-3 was significantly activated and mRNA levels of apoptosis-related genes (Bcl-2 and Bax) were altered. These results indicate that GBE induces apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 cells. It is presumed that GBE has chemopreventive effects in ER-independent breast cancer through anti-proliferation and apoptosis-inducing activities.
authors: School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do 440-746, Korea.
authors: Yong Joo
authors: YJ
authors: Park
authors: Mi Jie
authors: MJ
authors: Kim
authors: Ha Ryong
authors: HR
authors: Kim
authors: Min Sun
authors: MS
authors: Yi
authors: Kyu Hyuck
authors: KH
authors: Chung
authors: Seung Min
authors: SM
authors: Oh
mesh_terms: D016588:Anticarcinogenic Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D053938:DNA Fragmentation / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D004967:Estrogens / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D020441:Ginkgo biloba / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D016588:Anticarcinogenic Agents; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D004967:Estrogens; D010936:Plant Extracts; D053148:Caspase 3