| Background and purpose Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers and leading causes of death in the women
worldwide. The evidence shows efficacy of apatinib against breast cancer. Accordingly, the present study was conducted
to investigate the effect of apatinib on apoptosis, cell cycle, and Mitogen‑Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) and nuclear
factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling pathways in the breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cell line.
Methods The effects of apatinib on viability, morphology, tumor spheroid, cell cycle, migration, invasion, and apoptosis of
MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells were evaluated in vitro. In addition, expression of proteins involved in NF-κB and MAPK
signaling pathways was evaluated using the western blotting analysis.
Results Apatinib decreased viability, tumor spheroid, migration, and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells. Furthermore, apatinib
altered morphology and regulated cell cycle which followed by apoptosis induction in MDA-MB-231 cells. Apatinib
decreased expression of p-p65 and p65 proteins in NF-κB signaling pathways and increased expression of p38, p-p38, JNK,
and p-JNK in MAPK signaling pathways.
Conclusion The results suggested that apatinib can inhibit proliferation, migration and invasion of breast cancer cell line
MDA-MB-231 through inducing apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and regulating NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways. |