[Lily polysaccharide 1 enhances the effect of metformin on proliferation and apoptosis of human breast carcinoma cells].

Objective To investigate the effect of metformin, alone or in combination with Lily polysaccharide 1 (LP1), on cell viability and apoptosis in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Methods LP1 (0.5, 1.0 mg/mL) and metformin (5, 10, 20, 50 mmol/L) were added into MCF-7 cell culture medium, followed by incubating for 72 hours in carbon dioxide incubators at 37DegreesCelsius. MCF-7 cell proliferation was determined using MTT assay; the apoptosis and cell cycle of MCF-7 cells were examined using annexin V-FITC/PI double staining combined with flow cytometry; Western blotting was used to determine the content of Bcl-2, Bax, adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and phosphorated AMPK (p-AMPK) proteins. Results Metformin-induced inhibition of MCF-7 cell proliferation was significantly enhanced when 1 mg/mL LP1 was added in. Compared with the control group and the metformin only group, more cells were arrested to G1 and the apoptosis rate was raised obviously in the metformin and LP1 combination group. LP1 promoted the downregulated expression of Bcl-2 and the upregulated expression of Bax induced by metformin, but it didn't show any impact on the metformin-activated AMPK pathway. Conclusion LP1 enhances the proliferation-inhibitory and apoptosis-promoting effect of metformin on human breast carcinoma cells. The mechanism may be related with Bcl-2 downregulation and Bax upregulation.