Cimicifuga dahurica extract inhibits the proliferation, migration and invasion of breast cancer cells MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 in vitro and in vivo

Cimicifuga dahurica (Turcz.) Maxim (C. dahurica) has a long history of treating breast cancer. From the Qing Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty and even earlier, C. dahurica has been documented in the treatment of breast carbuncle (Breast cancer is classified as breast carbuncle in Chinese medicine). In traditional prescriptions such as “Sheng Ge Decoction”, “Sheng Ma Powder” and “Breast Carbuncle Pill”, as the main medicine, C. dahurica plays an important role. At present, the systematic studies on the in vitro and in vivo effects of Cimicifuga against breast cancer are rare, especially the C. dahurica. In this article, we evaluated the in vitro activity and in vivo effects of CREE (extract of the root of C. dahurica) against breast cancer, and discussed the possible mechanism of CREE in promoting breast cancer cell apoptosis. The main component in the CREE was analyzed by HPLC. The effects of CREE on the proliferation, migration and invasion of human breast cancer cells were evaluated through SRB, colony assay, LDH release, wound healing and transwell assay. The pro-apoptotic effect of CREE was investigated in Hochest33342 and Annexin V-FITC/PI assay. To verify the results of CREE in vivo effects, we applied nude mice subcutaneous xenograft experiments. The possible mechanism of CREE treating breast cancer was investigated through mitochondrial membrane potential and western blot experiments. CREE contains cycloartane triterpene saponins. CREE can significantly inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasion of human breast cancer MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells in vitro and it can effectively inhibit the growth of MDA-MB-231 cell subcutaneous tumors in vivo. Besides, we also found that CREE up-regulated the expression levels of Bax, caspase-9/3 and cytochrome C, and down-regulated the expression of Bcl-2. Therefore, regulation of the mitochondrial pathway may be one of the mechanisms by which CREE promotes breast cancer cell apoptosis. CREE exhibits sufficient anti-breast cancer activity in vivo and in vitro, this study provides persuasive evidence for the further research and development of C. dahurica.