Modulation of Apoptosis in Breast Cancer Cells MDA-MB-157, 93A, and 93B by Aqueous Extract of Chinese Medicinal Herb Scutellaria barbata

Scutellaria barbata (SB), a Chinese herb used in Traditional Chinese Medicine has been known to contain anti-cancer properties. SB has been investigated as a potential treatment for multiple types of cancer including colon cancer, glioblastoma, and ovarian cancer. Breast cancer cell lines MDA-MB-157, 93A, and 93B are drug-resistant APC-mutants. In this study, the effectiveness of SB in apoptotic modulation of breast cancer cell lines MDA-MB-157, 93A, and 93B was investigated. Assessments were performed using green/red/blue fluorescent Apoptosis/Necrosis Detection Kit and the Human Apoptosis Antibody Array - Membrane (43 Targets) test by the Abcam cooperation. Our data demonstrated that 1-hour treatment with 2 mg aqueous extract of SB induced a statistically significant percentage of apoptosis in MDA-MB- 157 (46.5 ± 7.5% > 16%± 1.0% , p 0%, p 0%, p Modulation of various apoptosis markers such as proapoptotic Bad, Bax, p53; and anti-apoptotic markers BcL-2, p21, and FasL also observed. These results suggest that SB contains phytochemicals that induce apoptosis in MDA-MB-157, 93A, and 93B by modulating these pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic proteins.