Open AccessExternal Qi of Yan Xin Qigong Induces Apoptosis and Inhibits Migration and Invasion of Estrogen-Independent Breast Cancer Cells Through Suppression of Akt/NF-ĸB Signaling
Author(s) -
Xin Yan,
Hua Shen,
Hangyi Jiang,
Dan Hu,
Chengsheng Zhang,
Jun Wang,
Xinqi Wu
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
cellular physiology and biochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.486
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1421-9778
pISSN - 1015-8987
DOI - 10.1159/000276560
Subject(s) - survivin , protein kinase b , xiap , apoptosis , cancer research , clonogenic assay , chemistry , cancer cell , cell migration , signal transduction , cancer , biology , medicine , microbiology and biotechnology , programmed cell death , cell , caspase , biochemistry
The antitumor effects of external Qi of Yan Xin Qigong (YXQ-EQ) have been widely described over the past three decades. To gain a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying YXQ-EQ's antitumor effects, in the present study we investigated its effects on growth, migration, invasion and apoptosis of breast cancer cells and the underlying molecular mechanisms. We show that YXQ-EQ treatment caused a time-dependent reduction in viability, blocked clonogenic growth and induced apoptosis in estrogen-independent breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells. Furthermore, YXQ-EQ treatment blocked migration and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells. Biochemically, YXQ-EQ treatment markedly inhibited constitutive and EGF-induced Akt phosphorylation. YXQ-EQ also substantially repressed NF-kappaB activity, resulting in decreased expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2, Bcl-X(L), XIAP and survivin proteins. These findings suggest that YXQ-EQ may induce apoptosis and inhibition of migration and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells through the repression of Akt/NF-kappaB signaling.