Fumigaclavine C from a Marine-Derived Fungus Aspergillus Fumigatus Induces Apoptosis in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells

Marine Drugs

Yong-Xin Li³  S.W.A. Himaya³  Pradeep Dewapriya¹  Chen Zhang² 

[1] Department of Chemistry, Pukyong National University, Busan 608-737, Korea; E-Mail:;Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, China; E-Mail:;Marine Bioprocess Research Center, Pukyong National University, Busan 608-737, Korea; E-Mails:

关键词: fumigaclavine C;    apoptosis;    anti-proliferation;    mitochondrial pathway;    anti-cancer;   

DOI  :  10.3390/md11125063

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Recently, much attention has been given to discovering natural compounds as potent anti-cancer candidates. In the present study, the anti-cancer effects of fumigaclavine C, isolated from a marine-derived fungus, Aspergillus fumigatus, was evaluated in vitro. In order to investigate the impact of fumigaclavine C on inhibition of proliferation and induction of apoptosis in breast cancer, MCF-7 cells were treated with various concentrations of fumigaclavine C, and fumigaclavine C showed significant cytotoxicity towards MCF-7 cells. Anti-proliferation was analyzed via cell mobility and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. In addition, fumigaclavine C showed potent inhibition on the protein and gene level expressions of MMP-2, -9 in MCF-7 cells which were manifested in Western blot and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) results. The apoptosis induction abilities of the fumigaclvine C was studied by analyzing the expression of apoptosis related proteins, cell cycle analysis, DNA fragmentation and molecular docking studies. It was found that fumigaclavine C fragmented the MCF-7 cell DNA and arrested the cell cycle by modulating the apoptotic protein expressions. Moreover, fumigaclavine C significantly down-regulated the NF-kappa-B cell survival pathway. Collectively, data suggest that fumigaclavine C has a potential to be developed as a therapeutic candidate for breast cancer.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.