Abstract:Objective To explore the effect of α-mangostin on proliferation, growth, and invasion of MCF-7 breast cancer and its mechanisms. Methods MTS was used to study the effect of α-mangostin on in vitro proliferation of MCF-7 breast cancer cells. MCF-7 breast cancer xenograft model was used to examine the effect of α-mangostin on in vivo growth of the tumor. The effect of α-mangostin on invasion ability of MCF-7 breast cancer cells was examined by Transwell experiment. Immunohistochemistry was used to study the effect of α-mangostin on the expressions of translationally-controlled tumor protein (TCTP), matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9 in MCF-7 subcutaneous transplantation tumor tissue. Western blot was used to detect the expressions of Erk, p38,MMP-2 and MMP-9 proteins. Results The proliferation of MCF-7 breast cancer cells was significant inhibited by α-mangostin in vitro compared to the control group. α-mangostin significantly inhibited the growth of MCF-7 breast cancer subcutaneous transplantation tumor in vivo compared to the control group. The invasion ability of MCF-7 breast cancer cells was significantly inhibited by α-mangostin. The expressions of TCTP, MMP-2 and MMP-9 were significantly inhibited by α-mangostin as shown in immunohistochemistry. The results of Western blot showed that α-mangostin inhibited the expressions of MMP-2, MMP-9, p-Erk and p-p38. Conclusions α-mangostin has anti-proliferation, anti-growth and anti-invasion effect on MCF-7 breast cancer, and such effect can attribute to its inhibition of growth and invasion-related proteins in MCF-7 breast cancer.