The antitumor effects of external Qi of Yan Xin Qigong (YXQ-EQ) have been widely described over the past three decades. To gain a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying YXQ-EQ’s antitumor effects, in the present study we investigated its effects on growth, migration, invasion and apoptosis of breast cancer cells and the underlying molecular mechanisms. We show that YXQ-EQ treatment caused a time-dependent reduction in viability, blocked clonogenic growth and induced apoptosis in estrogen-independent breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells. Furthermore, YXQ-EQ treatment blocked migration and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells. Biochemically, YXQ-EQ treatment markedly inhibited constitutive and EGF-induced Akt phosphorylation. YXQ-EQ also substantially repressed NF-ĸB activity, resulting in decreased expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2, Bcl-XL, XIAP and survivin proteins. These findings suggest that YXQ-EQ may induce apoptosis and inhibition of migration and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells through the repression of Akt/NF-ĸB signaling.

Keywords:
Breast cancer, Akt, NF-ĸB, External Qi of Yan Xin Qigong, Apoptosis, Metastasis
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© 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel
2010
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