Sodium butyrate-induced apoptosis and ultrastructural changes in MCF-7 breast cancer cells

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the effects of sodium butyrate (NaB) on Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) breast cancer cells and analyzed the relevant mechanism. Here, we demonstrated that a certain concentration of NaB effectively induced MCF-7 cell apoptosis. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was used to detect cell viability and the apoptosis rate. Western blotting was used to detect changes in the Bcl-2 expression level. We observed cell shape changes with microscopy. Immunofluorescence revealed some apoptotic nuclei. Electron microscopy revealed thick nucleoli, chromatin margination, reduced mitochondria, and dramatic vacuoles. Collectively, our findings elucidated the morphological mechanism by which NaB changed the ultrastructure of MCF-7 cells.

KEYWORDS:

• MCF-7
• sodium butyrate
• ultrastructural changes

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81572943), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2014301020204), and the Large-Scale Instrument and Equipment Sharing Foundation of Wuhan University.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81572943), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2014301020204), and the Large-Scale Instrument and Equipment Sharing Foundation of Wuhan University.