RESUMO
Angelicin is a furocoumarin found in Psoralea corylifolia L. fruit and the Chinese herb Angelica archangelica. It exerts antitumor activities, including apoptosis, antiproliferation and anti-metastasis activities, in several types of cancers. However, its effects on human triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remain unclear. In this study, we evaluated the anticancer activity of angelicin in vitro in the TNBC cell line MDA-MB-231 and investigated the related molecular mechanisms. To determine the anticancer activity of angelicin, MTT assay and flow cytometric analysis were performed to measure the cytotoxicity, cell proliferation and cell cycle. Wound healing assay and trans well assay were used to analyze the migration and invasion of breast cancer cells. The effect of angelicin on the expression of proteins was analyzed by western blotting. The results revealed that angelicin (50, 100, 150µM) had no effect on cytotoxicity. However, angelicin (at 100 µM) could inhibit cell proliferation by reducing cyclin B1 and cdc2 and increasing p21 and p27 expression levels, thereby resulting in G2/M phase arrest. Additionally, angelicin at a concentration of 150 µM inhibited the migration and cell invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells, partially by down regulating MMP-2 protein levels. Together, these results suggest that angelicin may serve as an adjuvant chemotherapeutic agent for patients with TNBC.
