title: Apoptosis induced by β,β-dimethylacrylshikonin is associated with Bcl-2 and NF-κB in human breast carcinoma MCF-7 cells.
abstract: β,β-dimethylacrylshikonin (DA) is a natural naphthoquinone derivative compound ofLithospermum erythrorhizonwith various biological activities. The present study aimed to investigate the inhibitory effects and underlying mechanisms of DA in human breast carcinoma MCF-7 cells. The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay showed that DA inhibited the proliferation of MCF-7 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The half maximal inhibitory concentration of DA with regard to the proliferation of MCF-7 cells was 0.050±0.016 mM. The characteristics of cell apoptosis, including cell shrinkage, nuclear pyknosis and chromatin condensation, were all observed in DA-treated cells. DA decreased the expression levels of Bcl-2 and increased the expression of Bax and caspase-3 compared with those in the control. DA inhibited the activity of the nuclear factor (NF)-κB pathway, by downregulating the expression of the p65 subunit, and inhibited the Iκb phosphorylation. DA inhibits the proliferation of MCF-7 cellsin vitroby inducing apoptosis through the downregulation of Bcl-2, upregulation of Bax and partial inactivation of the NF-κB pathway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Preclinical and Forensic Medical College, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: Xiu-Ying
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Ziran
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhen-Jun
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.forename: Yuan-Yuan
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Li-Ming
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Zhou
keywords: apoptosis; breast cancer; nuclear factor-κB; β,β-dimethylacrylshikonin