Anthraquinones are an important class of naturally occurring biologically active compounds. In this study, anthraquinone derivative 1,3-dihydroxy-9,10-anthraquinone-2- carboxylic acid (DHAQC) (2) was synthesized with 32% yield through the Friedel-Crafts condensation reaction. The mechanisms of cytotoxicity of DHAQC (2) in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells were further investigated. Results from t...

Epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (EET) production via cytochrome P450 (CYP) epoxygenases closely correlates with the progression of breast cancer. However, its role in the development of chemoresistant breast cancers has yet to be elucidated. Here, we found that CYP3A4 expression and its epoxy-product, 11,12-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (11,12-EET) was enhanced in tamoxifen (TAM)-resistant MCF-7 (TAMR-MCF-...

GSTP1, encoding the pi-class glutathione S-transferase, is commonly inactivated by somatic CpGisland hypermethylation in cancers of the prostate, liver, and breast. We report here thathypermethylation of CpG dinucleotides at the 5' transcriptional regulatory region was sufficient to inhibit GSTP1 transcription in MCF-7 breast cancer cells and that repression of GSTP1 transcription was mediated ...

Data presented in this report indicate short-term in vitro treatment of nonmetastatic MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells with the chemotherapeutic agents-, Adriamycin and/or 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (FUdR), induced changes in the expressed phenotype. Cells treated sequentially with Adriamycin and FUdR expressed a metastatic phenotype. The results also show short-term exposure of MCF-7 cells to either...

Multidrug resistance(MDR) is a major obstacle to efficiency of breast cancer chemotherapy. We investigated whether combination of metformin and 2-deoxyglucose reverses MDR of MCF-7/Dox cells and tried to elucidate the possible mechanisms. The combination of metformin and 2-deoxyglucose selectively enhanced cytotoxicity of doxorubicin against MCF-7/Dox cells. Combination of the two drugs resumed...

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a monomer use in manufacturing a wide range of chemical products which include epoxy resins and polycarbonate. It has been reported that BPA increases the cell proliferation activity of human breast cancer MCF-7 cells as well as 17-beta estradiol (E2) and diethylstilbestrol (DES). However, BPA induces target genes through ER-dependent and ER-independent manners which are di...

In the search for novel cytotoxic agents, sesquiterpenoids and phenylpropanoids have provided interesting lead compounds. From the chloroform extract of the underground parts of Laserpitium latifolium, the daucane sesquiterpenoids laserpitin and acetyldesoxodehydrolaserpitin, and the phenylpropanoids laserin and latifolon were isolated as the major compounds. Acetyldesoxodehydrolaserpitin is id...

The aim of this study was to explore the molecular mechanisms of jolkinolide B (JB), which is extracted from the root of Euphorbia fischeriana Steud. In this study, we found that JB, a diterpenoid from the traditional Chinese medicinal herb, strongly inhibited the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. Furthermore, we evaluated the effects of JB on the ...

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in multidrug resistance (MDR). This study aimed to investigate the effects of long-term ROS alteration on MDR in MCF-7 cells and to explore its underlying mechanism. Our study showed both long-term treatments of H2O2 and glutathione (GSH) led to MDR with suppressed iROS levels in MCF-7 cells. Moreover, the MDR cells induced by 0.1 μM H2O2 tre...

BACKGROUND Cancer cells are typically surrounded by stromal cells and embedded in extracellular matrix (ECM). The stromal compartment interacts with cancer cells to promote growth and metastasis. For decades, autologous fasciocutaneous flaps have been safely applied for breast reconstruction after mastectomy. In contrast, the safety of fat grafting (lipofilling) procedure has been under debate ...