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Acid Water-ground Nano-realgar Is Superior to Crude Realgar in Promoting Apoptosis of MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells

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Abstract

Objective

Realgar is a traditional mineral Chinese medicine with antitumor effects, but it has high toxicity and low efficacy in its crude form. The purpose of this study was to optimize realgar to increase its efficacy and therapeutic potential.

Methods

Crude realgar (CR) was mechanically ground to obtain nano-realgar (NR), and then nano-realgar processed products (NRPPs) were obtained using three different traditional Chinese medicine processing methods: grinding in water, acid water, and alkali water, respectively.

Results

By analyzing the size distribution of nanoparticles and the content of arsenic trioxide (As2O3; ATO), we found that acid water-ground NRPPs had the characteristics of high purity and low toxicity. The effects of CR, NR, and NRPPs on proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis of MCF-7 cells were detected, and the ability of NRPPs to induce apoptosis in MCF-7 cells was analyzed. The results showed that the average particle size of acid water-ground NRPPs was 137.7 nm, and the content of ATO was 2.83 mg/g. Acid water-ground NRPPs showed better effects on inhibiting proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis of MCF-7 cells than CR and NR. Western blot assays further confirmed that acid water-ground NRPPs upregulated the protein expression of TP53, Bax, cytochrome c, caspase-9, and caspase-3 in MCF-7 cells (P<0.05) and inhibited the expression of Bcl-2 (P<0.05).

Conclusion

These results suggest that acid water-ground NRPPs can induce apoptosis of MCF-7 cells through regulating mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis, providing evidence for the clinical application of realgar.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the technical support provided by the Flow Cytometry Core of Hubei University of Chinese Medicine.

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Author notes

  1. The authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Pharmacy, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, 430065, China

    Juan Xi, Jia-hui Fang, Xiao-mei Xiong, Chun Gui & Xiu-qiao Zhang

  2. School of Laboratory Medicine, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, 430065, China

    Yu-xue Wang

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  1. Juan Xi
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  2. Jia-hui Fang
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  3. Xiao-mei Xiong
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  4. Chun Gui
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yu-xue Wang or Xiu-qiao Zhang.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

This study was generously supported by the Science and Technology Research Project of Hubei Education Department (No. B2019097).

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Xi, J., Fang, Jh., Xiong, Xm. et al. Acid Water-ground Nano-realgar Is Superior to Crude Realgar in Promoting Apoptosis of MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells. CURR MED SCI 42, 720–732 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-022-2605-5

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