Wortmannin induces MCF-7 breast cancer cell death via the apoptotic pathway, involving chromatin condensation, generation of reactive oxygen species, and membrane blebbing

Rozina Akter,1 Md. Zakir Hossain,2 Maurice G Kleve,3 Michael A Gealt31Applied Biosciences Emphasis, Department of Applied Science, 2Graduate Institute of Technology, 3Department of Biology, College of Science and of Mathematics, University Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, AR, USABackground: Apoptosis can be used as a reliable marker for evaluating potential chemotherapeutic agents. Because wortmannin is a microbial steroidal metabolite, it specifically inhibits the phosphatidyl inositol 3-kinase pathway, and could be used as a promising apoptosis-based therapeutic agent in the treatment of cancer. The objective of this study was to investigate the biomolecular mechanisms involved in wortmannin-induced cell death of breast cancer-derived MCF-7 cells.Methods and results: Our experimental results demonstrate that wortmannin has strong apoptotic effects through a combination of different actions, including reduction of cell viability in a dose-dependent manner, inhibition of proliferation, and enhanced generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that wortmannin induces MCF-7 cell death via a programmed pathway showing chromatin condensation, nuclear fragmentation, reactive oxygen species, and membrane blebbing, which are characteristics typical of apoptosis.Keywords: wortmannin, human breast adenocarcinoma, apoptosis, reactive oxygen species, flow cytometr