Icariin induces apoptosis in breast cancer MCF-7 cells by regulating the MELK mediated PI3K/AKT signaling pathway

Abstract

To investigate the mechanism of icariin in promoting apoptosis of breast cancer cells by regulating the Phosphatidylinositol kinase (PI3K) PI3K/AKT signaling pathway mediated by Maternal embryonic leucine zipper kinase (MELK). Methods: Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting were used to detect the expression of MELK. small interfering RNA (siRNA)-MELK cell transfection technology was used to detect the correlation between MELK and PI3K/AKT. Different icariin concentrations on proliferation, migration and apoptosis of breast cancer cells were detected by flow cytometry, CCK-8, and Transwell. Western blot was used to detect the effects of icariin on MELK expression, AKT, cyclin, and apoptosis-related proteins. Results: Compared with normal mammary epithelial cells, the expression of MELK in breast cancer cells was significantly increased (p < 0.01). si-MELK decreased the expression of p-AKT, increased the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related protein E-cadherin, and decreased the expression of N-cadherin and vimentin. Compared with the control group, icariin solution group showed a decrease in cell proliferation ability, a significant increase in cell apoptosis and a decrease in cell migration ability (p < 0.05). Icariin could induce G2/M arrest and inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells. Conclusion: Icariin can inhibit the expression of MELK, inhibit the PI3k/AKT signaling pathway to a certain extent, and further has a therapeutic effect on breast cancer.

CHAC1 exacerbates LPS-induced ferroptosis and apoptosis in HK-2 cells by promoting oxidative stress

“…40 Molecular mechanisms, such as apoptosis, oxidative stress, and ferroptosis, have been revealed to participate in the progression of a variety of diseases. [25][26][27][28][29][30] In sepsisinduced AKI, Huang et al demonstrated that suppressing pannexin-1 inhibited cell apoptosis, which could contribute cells. Furthermore, the application of NAC reversed the effects of CHAC1 on the apoptosis and ferroptosis of LPSinduced HK-2 cells.…”

Sanyin Formula Enhances the Therapeutic Efficacy of Paclitaxel in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Metastases through the JAK/STAT3 Pathway in Mice

“…In addition to the abovementioned active ingredients, a variety of compounds with relatively high contents, which were identified by HPLC-MS/MS but not found to be enriched by network pharmacology analysis, exhibit antitumor effects. Icariin induces breast cancer cell apoptosis through the PI3K/AKT and SIRT6/NF-κB signalling pathways [ 23 , 24 ]. Icariin also induces apoptosis in tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer cells, suggesting that it may be used as an alternative treatment in cases with chemotherapeutic resistance [ 25 ].…”