Alantolactone induces apoptosis and suppresses migration in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells via the p38 MAPK, NF-κB and Nrf2 signaling pathways

Human breast cancer is a malignant type of cancer with high prevalence. In the present study, the anticancer effects of alantolactone, a sesquiterpene lactone, on the human breast cancer cell line MF-7 were investigated in vitro. The MCF-7 cell morphology changed from diamond to round subsequent to treatment with alantolactone, and the cell viability reduced significantly compared with that of the control cells. Alantolactone induced apoptosis of MCF-7 cells by regulating the protein expression levels of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated X protein, p53, caspase-3 and caspase-12, which are associated with the apoptotic pathway, and suppressed colony formation and migration by regulating the protein expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-7 and MMP-9. Cell signaling pathway analysis confirmed that alantolactone increased the phosphorylation of p38, and decreased the nuclear expression levels of p65 and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), suggesting that the apoptosis-promoting and migration-suppressing effect of alantolactone may partially depend on regulating the p38 MAPK, NF-κB and Nrf2 pathways. These results also suggested that alantolactone may become a potential therapeutic strategy for treating breast cancer.