DOI: 10.1177/1934578x261438630 ISSN: 1934-578X

Evaluation of Glycyrrhizin on MCF 7 Breast Cancer Cells: A Molecular and Pharmacological Analysis

Moneeb Ashraf, Usman Aftab, Tasleem Akhtar, Ali Rafi, Safdar Hussain, Shoaib Ashraf, Muhammad Shahzad
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Introduction

Breast cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related morbidity worldwide, necessitating continued exploration of alternative therapeutic agents. Plant-based resources have been increasingly exploited because of their pharmacological usefulness. This study aimed to comparatively evaluate the in vitro cytotoxic and gene-expression modulatory effects of glycyrrhizin (GL) and tamoxifen (TAM) in MCF-7 breast cancer cells, with particular emphasis on transcriptional changes associated with tumor suppressor and oncogenic pathways.

Methodology

MCF-7 cells were treated with increasing concentrations of GL and TAM, and cell viability was assessed using MTT assay to determine relative inhibitory concentrations (IC25, IC50, and IC75). Quantitative real-time PCR was employed to evaluate the expression of selected genes related to cell proliferation, apoptosis, and tumor suppression, including p53, PTEN, RAN, c-Myc, Bcl-2, stathmin, INFγ, hsp84, cyclin D1, and α-tubulin .

Results

Both GL and TAM demonstrated dose-dependent inhibition of MCF-7 cell viability, with tamoxifen exhibiting significantly greater cell inhibition potency, reflected by a lower IC50 (28.71 ± 2.97 µM) value compared to that of glycyrrhizin (37.70 ± 3.10 µM). Gene expression analysis revealed downregulation of several oncogenes, including RAN, c-Myc, Bcl-2, stathmin, INFγ, hsp84, cyclin D1 , and α-tubulin , while upregulation of the tumor suppressor p53 gene. Notably, glycyrrhizin uniquely induced PTEN upregulation, suggesting a transcriptionally distinct mechanism compared to tamoxifen.

Conclusion

This exploratory in vitro study demonstrates that glycyrrhizin modulates key cancer-related gene expression pathways in MCF-7 cells, despite exhibiting lower cell inhibition potency than tamoxifen. The findings suggest that GL may exert mechanistically distinct transcriptional effects, particularly involving PTEN regulation. However, as this study is based solely on gene-expression data, further investigations incorporating protein-level validation, functional assays, and in vivo models are required to confirm these observations and assess translational relevance.

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