title: Antitumor effects of crocin on human breast cancer cells.
abstract: Crocin is a chemical extracted from saffron and it is the most important kind of pigment of saffron. It has been proposed as a promising candidate for cancer prevention. In this study, we investigate the growth inhibition and the apoptosis of MCF-7 cells induced by Crocin, and explore the underlying molecular mechanism. We found that Crocin can significantly inhibit the proliferation of MCF-7 cells, and induce their apoptosis through mitochondrial signaling pathways including the activation of Caspase-8, upregulation of Bax, the disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and the release of cytochrome c. The studies showed that Crocin induced apoptosis of MCF-7 cells partially through caspase-8 mediated mitochondrial pathway. Therefore, we postulate that Crocin might have cancer-preventive and cancer-therapeutic benefit for human breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Pengwei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Huan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yuanting
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Guangdong General Hospital & Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xinguang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qiu
keywords: Crocin; apoptosis; breast cancer