Alantolactone induces apoptosis and suppresses migration in MCF‑7 human breast cancer cells via the p38 MAPK, NF‑κB and Nrf2 signaling pathways

Liu,Jianli; Liu,Meijia; Wang,Shuai; He,Yin; Huo,Yapeng; Yang,Zhijun; Cao,Xiangyu

doi:10.3892/ijmm.2018.3751

Alantolactone induces apoptosis and suppresses migration in MCF‑7 human breast cancer cells via the p38 MAPK, NF‑κB and Nrf2 signaling pathways

Authors:
- Jianli Liu
- Meijia Liu
- Shuai Wang
- Yin He
- Yapeng Huo
- Zhijun Yang
- Xiangyu Cao
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Affiliations: Department of Biological Sciences, School of Life Science, Liaoning University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110036, P.R. China
Published online on: July 4, 2018 https://doi.org/10.3892/ijmm.2018.3751
Pages: 1847-1856
Copyright: © Liu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Human breast cancer is a malignant type of cancer with high prevalence. In the present study, the anticancer effects of alantolactone, a sesquiterpene lactone, on the human breast cancer cell line MCF‑7 were investigated in vitro. The MCF‑7 cell morphology changed from diamond to round subsequent to treatment with alantolactone, and the cell viability reduced significantly compared with that of the control cells. Alantolactone induced apoptosis of MCF‑7 cells by regulating the protein expression levels of B‑cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl‑2), Bcl‑2‑associated X protein, p53, caspase‑3 and caspase‑12, which are associated with the apoptotic pathway, and suppressed colony formation and migration by regulating the protein expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)‑2, MMP‑7 and MMP‑9. Cell signaling pathway analysis confirmed that alantolactone increased the phosphorylation of p38, and decreased the nuclear expression levels of p65 and nuclear factor erythroid 2‑related factor 2 (Nrf2), suggesting that the apoptosis‑promoting and migration‑suppressing effect of alantolactone may partially depend on regulating the p38 MAPK, NF‑κB and Nrf2 pathways. These results also suggested that alantolactone may become a potential therapeutic strategy for treating breast cancer.

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