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Breast cancer is the second most frequent malignancy worldwide. The use of plant-derived drugs in cancer therapy are widely considered in the treatment of different malignancies including breast cancer. Cucurbitacin D (Cu D) is able to induce apoptosis in cancerous cells through different signaling pathways. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of different concentrations of Cucurbitacin D on viability, death pattern as well as the expression alterations of Bcl-2, Bax, caspase-3, p53, Atg5, Beclin-1, PTEN and Akt genes in the MCF-7 (ER positive) and MDA-MB-468 (triple negative) breast cancer cell lines. Two breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468) were cultured and treated with different concentrations of the purified Cucurbitacin D. Anti-proliferative effects of the Cucurbitacin D on both breast cancer cell lines viability was investigated using the MTT assay. Real-time PCR was applied to evaluate the expression levels of the genes upon Cucurbitacin D therapy. Significant dose-dependent and anti-proliferative effects of the Cucurbitacin D were observed on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 cells after 24 h with IC50 value about 30 and 25 µM, respectively (P |
