Shionone suppresses the growth, migration and invasion of human breast cancer cells via induction of apoptosis and inhibition of MEK/ERK and STAT3 signalling pathways.

PURPOSE: Breast cancer is responsible for high morbidity and mortality across the globe. Studies are focusing to develop novel systemic therapies for the treatment of this disease. The present study was designed to examine the anticancer effects of Shionone against human breast cancer cells along with the underlying mechanism of its action.
METHODS: The breast cancer SK-BR-3 and normal breast MB-157 cell lines were used in the study. CCK8 assay was used for cell viability assessment. DAPI was used for the assessment of nuclear morphology. Acridine orange (AO)/ ethidium bromide (EB) and annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) assays were used for detection of apoptosis. Cell cycle analysis was done by flow cytometry. Protein expression was examined by western blot analysis.
RESULTS: The results showed that in vitro administration of Shionone led to decline of proliferation of breast cancer cells. The reduction of proliferative rates was attributed to the induction of apoptosis of breast cancer cells. Shionone caused cleavage of caspase-3 and 9. The expression of Bax was increased and that of Bcl-2 was decreased upon Shionone treatment. The transwell assays showed that Shionone suppressed the migration and invasion of breast cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. Finally, western blot analysis showed that Shionone blocked the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK and STAT3 signaling pathways in breast cancer cells.
CONCLUSION: Taken all together, the study established the anticancer role of triterpenoid Shionone in restricting the growth and proliferation of human breast cancer cells.