Background: Cepharanthine (CEP) is a biscoclaurine alkaloid extracted from Stephania cepharantha and has been shown to have an anti-tumour effect on different types of cancers. However, the anti-cancer effect of CEP on human breast cancer cells is still unclear. Methods: We used MTT, clone formation, in vitro scratch, invasion and migration assays to confirm the inhibitory role of CEP on the proliferation of breast cancer cells. Flow cytometry, plasmid construction and western blot analysis were used to study the detailed mechanisms. Results: Our study showed that CEP could inhibit cell proliferation by inducing autophagy, apoptosis, and G0/G1 cell cycle arrest of breast cancer cells. Furthermore, we found that CEP induced autophagy and apoptosis by inhibiting the AKT/mTOR signalling pathway. Conclusion: We found that CEP could inhibit growth and motility of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell. Our study revealed an anti-tumour effect of CEP on breast cancer cells and suggests that CEP could be a potential new clinical therapy for breast cancer.

Keywords:
Cepharanthine, Autophagy, Apoptosis, Cell cycle arrest, Breast cancer cells
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© 2017 The Author(s)Published by S. Karger AG, Basel
2017
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