Graduate Institute of Life Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
J Agric Food Chem. 2011 Aug 10;59(15):8216-24. doi: 10.1021/jf2012584. Epub 2011 Jul 7.
Berberine (BBR) is a natural alkaloid with significant antitumor activities against many types of cancer cells. This study investigated the molecular mechanisms by which BBR suppresses the growth of HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells. The results show that BBR induces G1-phase cell cycle arrest by interfering with the expression of cyclins D1 and E and that it induces cellular apoptosis through the induction of a mitochondria/caspase pathway. The data also indicate that BBR inhibits cellular growth and promotes apoptosis by down-regulating the HER2/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Furthermore, it is also shown that a combination of taxol and BBR significantly slows the growth rate of HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells. In conclusion, this study suggests that BBR could be a useful adjuvant therapeutic agent in the treatment of HER2-overexpressing breast cancer.
小檗碱（BBR）是一种具有显著抗肿瘤活性的天然生物碱，能有效抑制多种类型的癌细胞。本研究旨在探讨 BBR 抑制 HER2 过表达乳腺癌细胞生长的分子机制。结果表明，BBR 通过干扰细胞周期蛋白 D1 和 E 的表达诱导 G1 期细胞周期阻滞，并通过诱导线粒体/胱天蛋白酶途径诱导细胞凋亡。此外，数据还表明，BBR 通过下调 HER2/PI3K/Akt 信号通路抑制细胞生长并促进细胞凋亡。进一步的研究还表明，紫杉醇和 BBR 的联合使用可显著减缓 HER2 过表达乳腺癌细胞的生长速度。综上所述，本研究提示 BBR 可能成为治疗 HER2 过表达乳腺癌的一种有效辅助治疗药物。
