Abstract
Purpose: We tried to clarify the cytotoxic mechanism of VK3 using the breast cancer cell line MCF-7. Methods: Cytotoxicity was measured via intracellular esterase activity. DNA fragmentation was assessed by agarose gel electrophoresis. JC-1 staining was applied to measure mitochondrial dysfunction. Caspase activation and reactive oxidative species (ROS) generation were also measured. Results: VK3 exhibited cytotoxicity that caused DNA fragmentation in MCF-7 cells with an IC50 of 14.2 μM. JC-1 staining revealed that VK3 caused mitochondrial dysfunction including a disappearance of mitochondrial membrane potential. Additional investigation showed that the mitochondrial damage was induced by the generation of ROS and the subsequent activation of caspase-7 and -9. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that VK3-induced apoptosis is selectively initiated by the mitochondria-related pathway and might be useful in breast cancer chemotherapy.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 143-150 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology |
Volume | 65 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2009 |
Keywords
- Breast cancer
- Mitochondrial dysfunction
- ROS
- Vitamin K
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Toxicology
- Pharmacology
- Cancer Research
- Pharmacology (medical)