Prunus armeniaca effects on expression of genes related to apoptosis in human breast cancer cells

Abstract Background Apoptosis inhibition depends on the balance between expression of some regulatory genes including Bax and c-FLIP, despite breast cancer has long been associated with disturbances in apoptosis regulation. The objective of present study was to determine the expression levels of Bax and c-FLIP mRNAs in 1 μg sample of total RNA obtained from MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells treated with Prunus armeniaca extract. Methods Prunus armeniaca effect was measured by MTT assay with different drug concentrations (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5 and 5 mg/mL) at different incubation times (24, 48 and 72 h). Expression of Bax and c-FLIP mRNA levels was determined by qRT-PCR technique. Results The results of this study indicated that Prunus armeniaca significantly inhibited proliferation of cells in concentration-dependent manner in all the time of incubation (P < 0.05). Our findings also showed that the expression level of Bax and c-FLIP genes were increased in untreat group compared with control group in both of cancer cells at all the time (P < 0.001). Prunus armeniaca reduced the expression level of Bax and c-FLIP genes cancer cells as a time-dependence manner with respect to the untreat group significantly (P < 0.001). Conclusion The expression level of Bax and c-FLIP genes were significantly decreased under treatment of Prunus armeniaca extract and it may be helpful in the prevention and cure of breast cancer in usage of herbal remedies