Effect of fucoidan on proliferation and apoptosis of human breast carcinoma cell line MCF-7 / 肿瘤

ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate the effects of fucoidan on proliferation and apoptosis of breast carcinoma cell line MCF-7 and the underlying mechanism. Methods: Cell viability was measured by MTF assay. Apoptosis was detected by Hoechst 33258 staining and agarose gel electrophoresis. The mRNA and protein expression of bcl-2 and bax were examined by RT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. Results: Fucoidan effectively inhibited the proliferation of MCF-7 cells in a concentration-dependent manner (P <0.01). Fucoidan induced significant apoptosis of MCF-7 cells characterized by fragmented DNA ladder. Fucoidan down-regulated the expression of bcl-2 and up-regulated bax at mRNA and protein levels. The ratio of bcl-2 to bax decreased with the increase in the fucoidan concentrations (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Fucoidan inhibites the proliferation and induced the apoptosis of MCF-7 cells. The underlying mechanism may be related with down-regulation of anti-apoptotic protein bcl-2 and up-regulation of apoptotic protein bax.