Evaluation of the Anti-Metastatic Effect of Foeniculum Vulgare on the Protein Expression of HSP 70 & 90 in Balb/c Mice with 4T1 Model of Breast Cancer

Sep 24, 2026

Uploaded by Kyle

Breast cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality, particularly when drug resistance limits current therapies. This study evaluates the anti-metastatic activity of fennel in a 4T1 breast cancer mouse model. Thirty-five adult female BALB/c mice received daily intraperitoneal fennel extracts for two weeks, while tumor volume was monitored. HSP 70 and HSP 90 protein expression was measured in liver and ovary, HER2 in tumor tissue, and serum antioxidant enzymes including glutathione peroxidase and reductase. Fennel treatment significantly reduced tumor size and HSP expression while modulating HER2, supporting anti-tumor and anti-metastatic potential.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

HER-2 as a biomarker in breast cancer

Oxidative stress and glutathione antioxidant system

Heat shock proteins (HSP) in cancer progression

RESEARCH ARTICLE Editorial Process: Submission:04/11/2022 Acceptance:03/08/2022 Evaluation of the Anti-Metastatic Effect ofFoeniculum Vulgareon the Protein Expression of HSP 70 & 90 in Balb/c Mice with 4t1 Model of Breast Cancer Leila Sadegh Roudbari1, Maryam Eslami1, Monireh Movahedi1 *, Fereshteh Golab2 * Abstract Introduction: Breast cancer is one of the important factors of cancer-related deaths. Considering the drug resistance, special attention has been paid to natural compounds. This study aimed at evaluating the anti-metastatic activity of fennel in a breast cancer mouse model. Methods: A total of 35 adult female BALB/C mice were used in this study. Breast cancer was induced by subcutaneous injection of 4T1 cells in the right lower flank. The mice received fennel extracts daily via intraperitoneal injection for two weeks. Meanwhile, tumor volume was measured every day using calipers. After two weeks, each animal was anesthetized. The protein expression of HSP 70 & 90 was measured in liver tissue and ovary. The expression of her2 was measured in tumor tissue. The activity of Glutathione peroxidase and reductase as anti-oxidant agents were measured in serum. Results: Tumor size significantly decreased after nine days’treatment of the fennel. The expression of HER2 increased in the tumor tissue and decrease with different dose of fennel. Fennel treatment caused a decrease in the protein expression of HSP 70 & 90 in the liver tissues. Conclusion: Based on our findings, fennel has anti-tumor and anti-metastatic activities against aggressive cancers. Keywords: Foeniculum vulgare-fennel-trans-anethole-breast cancer-HSP 70-HSP 90-Her2 Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 24 (3), 833-840 Introduction Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer related mortalities noticed in women (Rampogu et al. , 2019) . Still, despite the wide clinical efficacy of current treatments, they’re ineffective in cases that acquired remedial resistance and there’s a clear need for the development of new remedial agents with new mechanisms of action(Mendis et al., 2015) . Anumber of natural agents modulating different signal transduction pathways are presently in clinical evaluation (Zagouri et al., 2013) . Human epidermal growth factor receptor type2 (HER-2) was surfaced as a molecular biomarker in breast cancer. It’s located on chromosome 17q21.1 and is a member of the type I growth factor receptor family (Krishnamurti and Silverman, 2014) In breast cancer, HER-2 is over-expressed in 20 – 30 of primary malignancies (Ishikawa et al., 2014). According to the original report, HER-2 gene modification could singly prognosticate the time of complaint relapse and overall survival in breast cancer cases (Winstanley et al., 1991) . Along with estrogen receptor (ER), HER-2 is an important gene for molecular purpose treatment of breast cancer. Therefore, as a predictor of the effectiveness of HER-2-targeted remedy, it is discussed in many studies (Ishikawa et al. , 2014) . HER-2 is useful in treatment of breast cancer; as a target of HER2 inhibitors and a predictor of the effectiveness of anti-cancer agents (Ishikawa et al., 2014) . Inhibition of the expression of HER-2 is need for treating breast cancer in HER-2 subtype. Now medicines that target HER-2, like trastuzumab and lapatinib, are successfully used in clinical treatment, although the long term outgrowth is still unknown (Ishikawa et al., 2014) . Oxidative stress may play an important role in onset and progression of breast cancer (Lee et al., 2017). According to importance of subject that links reactive oxygen species (ROS) to the different phases of tumorigenesis, many studies have reported that ROS scavenging systems are important targets for cancer treatment (Hecht et al., 2016) . Some of medicines approved for breast cancer that involved in ROS homeostasis, target glutathione (GSH) metabolism that plays a key role in preventing oxidative stress in human cells (Hecht et al.,

FAQs

What was the purpose of this study?

To evaluate the anti-metastatic activity of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) in a breast cancer mouse model and assess related protein expression changes.

How were the fennel extracts administered and for how long?

Fennel extracts were given daily via intraperitoneal injection for two weeks in the 4T1 breast cancer mouse model.

Which biomarkers and tissues were analyzed in the experiment?

Tumor tissue was analyzed for HER2 expression, while HSP 70 and HSP 90 protein expression were measured in liver tissue and ovary. Serum antioxidant activities including glutathione peroxidase and reductase were also assessed.

Sep 24, 2026

Uploaded by Kyle