ISSN: 2155-983X
Keiji Kuwabara, Hideaki Ichihara and Yoko Matsumoto
In this study, the effect of trehalose liposomes (DMTreC14) constituted using α-D-glycopyranosyl-α-Dglucopyranoside monomyristate (TreC14) and L-α-dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine, on the growth of the human breast cancer cell-line, MCF-7 was examined. It was observed that DMTreC14 had an inhibitory effect on the growth of MCF-7 cells and caused apoptosis. This was attributed to DMTreC14 induced decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential followed by the release of cytochrome-c and activation of caspase-6 and caspase-9 in MCF-7 cells. Furthermore, it was observed that there was an increased accumulation of DMTreC14 in the cell membrane of MCF-7 cells, followed by an increase in the fluidity of the cell membrane. In addition, activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase (JNK/SAPK) was also observed upon treatment with DMTreC14.