Anti-tumor effects of Soyasaponin IV as a natural product in Ehrlich ascites carcinoma bearing mice: modulation of monocyte vascular endothelial growth factor (VEFG) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathways

Abstract

Breast cancer stands as the leading cause of cancer-related fatalities among women globally, presenting a diverse landscape of histological and molecular c characteristics, treatment response, and prognosis. This investigation examined the impact of soyasaponin IV, a natural product, on mice carrying Ehrlich’s ascites carcinoma (EAC), exploring its potential in blostering the hosts’ defense against cancer. The isolated compounds underwent scrutiny for their cytotoxic effects on breast cancer cell line, with Doxorubicin as the reference standard. Notably, Soyasaponin IV exhibited the highest cytotoxicity. Evaluation of its in vivo antitumor efficacy against EAC revealed a substantial reduction in tumor weight and volume, accompanied by improved histological features of tumor cells. EAC-induced abnormalities, including elevated levels of Malondialdehyde (MDA), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) were all shown to be upregulated by EAC, while glutathione (GSH), were mitigated in a dose-dependent manner by soyasaponin IV treatment. Soyasaponin IV emerged as a promising strategy for suppressing EAC by impeding the NF-κB and VEGF pathways.

Keywords:

• Breast cancer
• Ehrlich’s ascites carcinoma
• soyasaponin IV
• Natural Product—VEGF
• NF-κB
• GSH
• MDA

Statistical analysis

All data are expressed as mean ± SEM. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey–Kramer multiple comparison test

Ethical approval

Kafrelsheikh University’s Animal Ethics Committee (KFS-04/2021).

Author contributions

S.A.A., A.A., A.E.K., L.Q. and A.A.Z performed the project work, conceived and designed the experiments; S.A.A., W.A, A.A. and A.A.Z carried out the experiments; S.A.A., W.A, A.A., A.E.K., L.Q., and A.A.Z., A.E.S. analyzed the data; S.A.A., W.A, A.A. and A.A.Z. wrote the manuscript; all the authors revised the manuscript; L.Q.: obtained funding.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Availability of data and materials

On request, the datasets used in and/or analyzed during the current research are available. This published article contains all of the data generated or analyzed during this research. This manuscript has never been published before, and it is not currently being considered by another journal. The paper has been approved and agreed to be submitted to this journal by all authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was sponsored by the special projects for local science and technology development guided by China central government (grant no. 2019L3011).