Abstract: The effects of rosmarinic acid on cell proliferation,apoptosis and migration in breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells were investigated in this study.After treatment with rosmarinic acid,MDA-MB-231 cell proliferation inhibition rate was examined by SRB assay.Measurement of apoptosis was examined by Hoechst 33258 staining and Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining.Next,scratch wound assay was used to detect the migration activity of MDA-MB-231 cells.Meanwhile,the mRNA levels of Bax,Bcl-2,Caspase-3,MMP-2 and MMP-9 were examined by qRT-PCR.Our results showed that rosmarinic acid inhibited the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 cells in a time-concentration manner.After treatment with rosmarinic acid,MDA-MB-231 cells appeared obvious apoptotic characteristics,and the number of apoptotic cells was significantly increased.Further studies showed that the mRNA levels of Bax and caspase-3 were upregulated,while the mRNA level of Bcl-2 was downregulated in rosmarinic acid-treated cells.In addition,rosmarinic acid blocked the migration of MDA-MB-231 cells in a concentration-dependent manner,which was associated with the downregulation of MMP-9 and MMP-2.Taken together,these results suggested that rosmarinic acid might be a potential drug in human breast cancer treatment by inhibiting proliferation,inducing apoptosis and blocking cell migration.

Key words: rosmarinic acid, MDA-MB-231 cells, anti-proliferation, anti-migration