title: Plumbagin triggers DNA damage response, telomere dysfunction and genome instability of human breast cancer cells.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Natural plant products are increasingly being used in cancer therapeutic studies due to their reduced normal cell toxicity. In this study, the anti-cancer properties of plumbagin, a naphthoquinone derivative extracted from the roots of Plumbago, were evaluated in breast cancer cells.
  
  
  METHODS
  To evaluate the effects of plumbagin on breast cancer cell types, we employed a variety of techniques comprising cell viability, cell cycle assay, comet assay, western blotting, immunocytochemistry, measurement of telomerase activity, telomere restriction fragment length, quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridisation, along with gene expression analysis of untreated cells.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Plumbagin treatment induced cytotoxicity in human breast cancer cells along with cell cycle arrest, DNA damage and cell death leading to apoptosis. Plumbagin was also found to suppress the telomerase activity in cancer cells accompanied by telomere attrition. Telomere shortening was corroborated by reduced telomere fluorescence on chromosome ends and genome instability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Together, these findings may suggest the application of plumbagin as adjuvant modality in breast cancer therapeutics.
authors.affiliation: Genome Stability Laboratory, Department of Physiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore. Electronic address: samenis@sums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Safoura
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sameni
authors.affiliation: Genome Stability Laboratory, Department of Physiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Tembusu College, National University of Singapore, Singapore. Electronic address: prakash_hande@nuhs.edu.sg.
authors.forename: M Prakash
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Hande
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D059447:Cell Cycle Checkpoints / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D002999:Clone Cells; D053903:DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects; D042822:Genomic Instability / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D009285:Naphthoquinones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D019098:Telomerase / Q000378:metabolism; D016615:Telomere / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D059505:Telomere Homeostasis / Q000187:drug effects; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D009285:Naphthoquinones; D019098:Telomerase; C014758:plumbagin
keywords: Breast Cancer Cells; Cell death; DNA damage; Plumbagin; Telomerase; Telomeres