Effects of Celecoxib on proliferation and apoptosis of human breast cancer cell line MCF-7

Objective To investigate the effects of selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor Celecoxib on proliferation and apoptosis of breast cancer MCF-7 cells.Methods MTT assay was used to examine the proliferation of MCF-7 cells treated by different concentration of Celecoxib after 24～96 h.Flow cytometry was performed to analyze the apoptosis and cell cycle of MCF-7 cells.The expression of COX-2 was measured by RT-PCR method and levels of PGE2 were measured by ELISA method.Results The inhibition of proliferation of MCF-7 cells in vitro by Celecoxib was observerd in time-and dose-dependent manners.Celecoxib effectively down-regulated the expression of COX-2.The cell cycle was arrested at G0/G1,and rate of cells in S phase was obviously decreased.Celecoxib of different concentration could also induce apoptosis,and the apoptosis rate was related to the concentration of Celecoxib.Levels of PGE2 were inhibited by Celecoxib.Conclusion Celecoxib inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis of MCF-7 cells.The mechanism may be associated with down-regulation of the expression of COX-2 and inhibition of PGE2.