American Journal of Life Sciences

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Cytotoxic, Cytostatic and Anti-Estrogenic Effect of Thymoquinone on Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer MCF7 Cell Line

Received: 10 December 2014    Accepted: 13 December 2014    Published: 27 December 2014
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Abstract

About 80% of breast cancers are estrogen-receptor positive. The research carried out herein focused on the effect of Thymoquinone which is an active compound of Nigella sativa seed on estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer MCF7 cell line. The percentage of apoptotic cells was found using Annexin V-FITC apoptosis detection kit. CycleTEST PLUS DNA Reagent was used to distinguish distribution of treated cells between different cell cycle phases. DNA microarray identified the regulated genes, level of expressed genes, gene ontology and pathway networks. Significant arrest of treated cells at G1 phase suggested cytostatic effect of Thymoquinone 100 µM after 24 hours at p-value < 0.05 which was similar to anti-estrogenic compounds such as Tamoxifen. Cytotoxic effect of Thymoquinone 100 µM was found through highly significant accumulation of cells at sub-G1 phase after 72 hours at p-value < 0.0001. CYP1A1, CYP1B1, NQO1 and UGT1A8 genes were down regulated after 24 hours treatment with Thymoquinone 50 µM concentration which suggested reduction of catechol estrogens and rising in metoxy forms of estradiol and estrone. Reduction of ER would be predictable due to the down-regulation of CYP1B1 and UGT1A8 genes which reduced affinity of trans-tamoxifen-o-glucuronide to ER. The study proposed the benefits of using Thymoquinone to accelerate Tamoxifen effects in treating breast cancer and reducing its side effects.

DOI 10.11648/j.ajls.s.2015030202.12
Published in American Journal of Life Sciences (Volume 3, Issue 2-2, March 2015)

This article belongs to the Special Issue The Most Effective Medicinal Plants in Cancer Treatment

Page(s) 7-14
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Thymoquinone, Tamoxifen, Anti-Estrogenic Effect, Cell Cycle, Apoptosis Assay, cDNA Microarray

References
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Author Information
  • Oncology Science Cluster, Advanced Medical and Dental Institute, University Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia

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  • APA Style

    Marjaneh Motaghed. (2014). Cytotoxic, Cytostatic and Anti-Estrogenic Effect of Thymoquinone on Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer MCF7 Cell Line. American Journal of Life Sciences, 3(2-2), 7-14. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.s.2015030202.12

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    ACS Style

    Marjaneh Motaghed. Cytotoxic, Cytostatic and Anti-Estrogenic Effect of Thymoquinone on Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer MCF7 Cell Line. Am. J. Life Sci. 2014, 3(2-2), 7-14. doi: 10.11648/j.ajls.s.2015030202.12

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    AMA Style

    Marjaneh Motaghed. Cytotoxic, Cytostatic and Anti-Estrogenic Effect of Thymoquinone on Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer MCF7 Cell Line. Am J Life Sci. 2014;3(2-2):7-14. doi: 10.11648/j.ajls.s.2015030202.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajls.s.2015030202.12,
      author = {Marjaneh Motaghed},
      title = {Cytotoxic, Cytostatic and Anti-Estrogenic Effect of Thymoquinone on Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer MCF7 Cell Line},
      journal = {American Journal of Life Sciences},
      volume = {3},
      number = {2-2},
      pages = {7-14},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajls.s.2015030202.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.s.2015030202.12},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajls.s.2015030202.12},
      abstract = {About 80% of breast cancers are estrogen-receptor positive. The research carried out herein focused on the effect of Thymoquinone which is an active compound of Nigella sativa seed on estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer MCF7 cell line. The percentage of apoptotic cells was found using Annexin V-FITC apoptosis detection kit. CycleTEST PLUS DNA Reagent was used to distinguish distribution of treated cells between different cell cycle phases. DNA microarray identified the regulated genes, level of expressed genes, gene ontology and pathway networks. Significant arrest of treated cells at G1 phase suggested cytostatic effect of Thymoquinone 100 µM after 24 hours at p-value < 0.05 which was similar to anti-estrogenic compounds such as Tamoxifen. Cytotoxic effect of Thymoquinone 100 µM was found through highly significant accumulation of cells at sub-G1 phase after 72 hours at p-value < 0.0001. CYP1A1, CYP1B1, NQO1 and UGT1A8 genes were down regulated after 24 hours treatment with Thymoquinone 50 µM concentration which suggested reduction of catechol estrogens and rising in metoxy forms of estradiol and estrone. Reduction of ER would be predictable due to the down-regulation of CYP1B1 and UGT1A8 genes which reduced affinity of trans-tamoxifen-o-glucuronide to ER. The study proposed the benefits of using Thymoquinone to accelerate Tamoxifen effects in treating breast cancer and reducing its side effects.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Cytotoxic, Cytostatic and Anti-Estrogenic Effect of Thymoquinone on Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer MCF7 Cell Line
    AU  - Marjaneh Motaghed
    Y1  - 2014/12/27
    PY  - 2014
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.s.2015030202.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajls.s.2015030202.12
    T2  - American Journal of Life Sciences
    JF  - American Journal of Life Sciences
    JO  - American Journal of Life Sciences
    SP  - 7
    EP  - 14
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5737
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.s.2015030202.12
    AB  - About 80% of breast cancers are estrogen-receptor positive. The research carried out herein focused on the effect of Thymoquinone which is an active compound of Nigella sativa seed on estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer MCF7 cell line. The percentage of apoptotic cells was found using Annexin V-FITC apoptosis detection kit. CycleTEST PLUS DNA Reagent was used to distinguish distribution of treated cells between different cell cycle phases. DNA microarray identified the regulated genes, level of expressed genes, gene ontology and pathway networks. Significant arrest of treated cells at G1 phase suggested cytostatic effect of Thymoquinone 100 µM after 24 hours at p-value < 0.05 which was similar to anti-estrogenic compounds such as Tamoxifen. Cytotoxic effect of Thymoquinone 100 µM was found through highly significant accumulation of cells at sub-G1 phase after 72 hours at p-value < 0.0001. CYP1A1, CYP1B1, NQO1 and UGT1A8 genes were down regulated after 24 hours treatment with Thymoquinone 50 µM concentration which suggested reduction of catechol estrogens and rising in metoxy forms of estradiol and estrone. Reduction of ER would be predictable due to the down-regulation of CYP1B1 and UGT1A8 genes which reduced affinity of trans-tamoxifen-o-glucuronide to ER. The study proposed the benefits of using Thymoquinone to accelerate Tamoxifen effects in treating breast cancer and reducing its side effects.
    VL  - 3
    IS  - 2-2
    ER  - 

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