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Inhibitory effects of Guben Yiliu Formula II (固本抑瘤II号) and its blood activation prescriptions on the growth of MCF-7 human breast cancer xenografts in nude mice

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Abstract

Objective

To investigate the inhibitory effects of Guben Yiliu Formula II(固本抑瘤II号, GFII) and its blood activation prescription (BAP) on the growth of MCF-7 human breast cancer xenografts in nude mice, and explore their mechanisms of action.

Methods

After the establishment of the MCF-7 human breast cancer xenograft model in nude mice, the mice in the GFII and BAP groups were administered with GFII (6.56 g/mL) and BAP (1.65 g/mL) by gavage for 28 days, respectively. The tumor volume and weight were measured twice a week throughout the treatment period. Apoptotic cells were identified by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling. The expression of microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) was examined by immunohistochemistry, and Western blotting analysis was performed to detect the expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and LC3, as well as the effects on phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K/Akt/mTOR) signaling pathway.

Results

Compared with the control group, the GFII and BAP groups could significantly inhibit the growth of MCF-7 human breast cancer xenografts in nude mice. The expression of Bcl-2 protein was lower in the GFII and BAP than in the control group, whereas both the percentage of apoptotic cells and LC3-II/LC3-I ratio were higher than in the control group. In addition, significantly reduced expression of phospho-Akt, phosphor-mTOR and mTOR were observed in the blood activation group (P<0.05).

Conclusions

To some extent, the GFII and its BAP can exert their inhibitory effect on the growth of MCF-7 human breast cancer xenografts by inducing the cell apoptosis and autophagy. In addition to the induction of cell apoptosis, we also found that the BAP of GFII could induce cell autophagy by inhibiting of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, and then suppress the breast cancer cell growth.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hematology and Oncology, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100070, China

    Cong Ma  (马 丛)

  2. Department of Oncology, Affiliated Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100010, China

    Cong Ma  (马 丛), Xiao-min Wang  (王笑民), Ming-wei Yu  (于明薇), Gan-lin Zhang  (张甘霖), Nan Nan  (南 楠), Yi Zhang  (张 怡) & Ke-xin Cao  (曹可心)

  3. Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Biomedical Center, Uppsala University, Uppsala, S-751 23, Sweden

    Jin-ping Li  (李晋萍)

Authors
  1. Cong Ma  (马 丛)
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  2. Xiao-min Wang  (王笑民)
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  3. Ming-wei Yu  (于明薇)
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  4. Gan-lin Zhang  (张甘霖)
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  6. Yi Zhang  (张 怡)
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  7. Ke-xin Cao  (曹可心)
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiao-min Wang  (王笑民).

Additional information

Supported by the National Natural Science Fundation of China (No. 81173239 and No. 81202689) and Beijing Natural Science Fundation (No. 7132104 and No. 7122083)

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Ma, C., Wang, Xm., Yu, Mw. et al. Inhibitory effects of Guben Yiliu Formula II (固本抑瘤II号) and its blood activation prescriptions on the growth of MCF-7 human breast cancer xenografts in nude mice. Chin. J. Integr. Med. (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-014-1992-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-014-1992-2

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