Anti-proliferative effect and apoptotic induction of sesquiterpene lactone parthenolide in a human breast cancer cell line

Parthenolide is a secondary metabolite, which naturally occurs in the feverfew plant and is responsible for its healing power. The potential of parthenolide in inhibition of cancer cell growth, alone or in combination with other anti-cancer therapeutics, have been studied in several laboratories. In this study, the effect of extracted parthenolide on the expression of seven pro-apoptotic genes, all of them influenced by NF-κB signaling pathway, in a breast cancer cell line are investigated. The results indicated that in response to the parthenolide treatment, all of the selected genes were induced and up-regulated significantly and with different degrees. We proved that parthenolide alters the expression of a variety of genes involved in apoptosis pathway in MDA-MB- 231 cell line. In conclusion, we provided evidence that parthenolide alters the expression of a variety of genes involved in apoptosis pathway in MDA-MB- 231 breast cancer cells. The selected genes are directly or indirectly regulated by NF-κB and it is confirmed that NF-κB is an important target of parthenolide.