Anticancer effect of sodium metavanadate on murine breast cancer both in vitro and in vivo.

Sodium metavanadate (NaVO) exhibits important physiological effects including insulin-like, chemoprevention and anticancer activity. However, the effects of NaVO on breast cancer and underlying mechanisms are still unclear. In this study, our results revealed that NaVO was able to inhibit proliferation of murine breast cancer cells 4T1 with IC value of 8.19 μM and 1.92 μM at 24 h and 48 h, respectively. The mechanisms underlying the inhibition activity were that NaVO could increase reactive oxygen species (ROS) level in a concentration-dependent way, arrest cells at G2/M phase, diminish the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), finally promote the progress of apoptosis. Furthermore, NaVO also exhibited a dose-dependent anticancer activity in breast cancer-bearing mice that led to the shrinkage of tumor volume (about 50%), lower microvessel density, less propagating cells and more apoptotic cells in vivo, as compared to the saline group. Therefore, NaVO may act as a potential chemotherapeutic agent in breast cancer treatment.