title: Tongshu capsule down-regulates the expression of estrogen receptor α and suppresses human breast cancer cell proliferation.
abstract: The Tongshu Capsule (TSC) is a prevalent form of traditional Chinese medicine widely used for its purported effects in treating mammary gland hyperplasia and inflammation. Though successful in several clinical studies, there is no clear evidence as to why TSC has a positive treatment effect, and little known about underlying mechanism that may account for it. In this study, we examined the effects of TSC and found that it has a comparatively strong growth inhibition on ERα positive breast cancer cells. TSC seems to cause G1 cell cycle arrest instead of apoptosis. Interestingly, TSC also down-regulated the expression of ERα and Cyclin D1. Consistently, TSC suppressed E2 mediated ERα downstream gene expression and cell proliferation in ERα positive breast cancer cell lines MCF7 and T47D. Depletion of ERα partially abolished the effects of TSC on the decrease of Cyclin D1 and cell viability. Our findings suggest that TSC may have therapeutic effects on ERα positive breast cancers and moreover that TSC may suppress breast epithelial cell proliferation by inhibiting the estrogen pathway.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
authors.forename: Chengzhi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
authors.forename: Shuang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
authors.forename: Zhongmei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Yunnan Institute of Materia Medica, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
authors.forename: Jingkun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
authors.forename: Ceshi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D019938:Cyclin D1 / Q000378:metabolism; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D004967:Estrogens / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D059585:G1 Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints / Q000187:drug effects*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: C530104:CCND1 protein, human; C506487:ESR1 protein, human; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha; D004967:Estrogens; D019938:Cyclin D1
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