bt-474 breast cancer cell apoptosis induced bycrocin, a saffron carotenoid

Background: saffron carotenoids have been known as powerful phytochemicals in breast cancer treatment. the purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-cancer properties of an important saffron carotenoid, crocin, on bt-474 which is a known her2+ breast cancer cell line. methods: the effect of crocin on cell viability was investigated using mtt assay. apoptosis induction was studied via flow cytometry and western blotting of caspase-9 and cleaved caspase-9. involvement of unfolded protein response (upr) was also investigated via rt-pcr study of the xbp1 gene. results: the results showed that crocin treatment decreases the viability of bt-474 cells and induces early and late apoptosis in these cells. the mechanism of crocin action was through the induction of caspase-9 expression and cleavage. furthermore, we found that crocin induced xbp1 gene splicing in these cells. conclusion: the present study provides important evidence that crocin induces apoptosis in bt-474 cells. in addition, the activation of upr may play a role in the anticancer effects of crocin.