Aloin induced significant dose-dependent cytotoxicity and upregulated apoptotic genes in breast and prostate cancer cells, while sparing normal prostate epithelial cells.
Aloin demonstrates selective cytotoxicity and induces intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways in breast and prostate cancer cell lines in vitro.
p-value: p=<10-9
Breast and prostate cancers remain among the most prevalent epithelial malignancies worldwide, and conventional treatments often lack tumor selectivity. Aloin, an anthraquinone glycoside derived from Aloe vera, has demonstrated promising anticancer properties. This study investigated the differential cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of Aloin under in vitro conditions in MCF-7 (breast cancer) and PC-3 (prostate cancer) cell lines compared with normal prostate epithelial cells (PNT-A1). Cells were treated with Aloin (1000–1500 µg/mL); cytotoxicity was assessed by CCK-8 assay, apoptotic morphology by DIC microscopy, protein expression by immunofluorescence with quantitative CTCF analysis (BAX, Caspase-3, Caspase-8, Caspase-9), and gene expression by qRT-PCR (2−ΔΔCt method). An integrated log2 fold change heatmap, pathway enrichment analysis across three independent databases (KEGG 2026, Reactome 2024, WikiPathways 2024), and STRING v12.0-based protein–protein interaction (PPI) network were constructed. Aloin exerted significant dose-dependent cytotoxicity in both cancer cell lines, while PNT-A1 viability exceeded 50% across all concentrations (Selectivity Index > 1.30 for MCF-7 at 48 h). Immunofluorescence and qRT-PCR confirmed significant upregulation of BAX (up to 6.14×), CASP8 (up to 15.51×), CASP9 (up to 9.27×), and CASP3 (3.03× in PC-3), indicating concurrent activation of intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways, while all genes remained unchanged in PNT-A1 cells. Pathway enrichment analysis confirmed that these genes are statistically central nodes in conserved apoptotic signaling networks (adj. p < 10−9). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first in vitro characterization of Aloin-induced pro-apoptotic activity in prostate cancer cells, establishing a mechanistic foundation for further investigation of this phytochemical in epithelial-derived cancer models.
Dastourı et al. (Thu,) conducted a other in Breast and prostate cancer. Aloin vs. Normal prostate epithelial cells (PNT-A1) was evaluated on Cytotoxicity and apoptotic gene expression (p=<10-9). Aloin induced significant dose-dependent cytotoxicity and upregulated apoptotic genes in breast and prostate cancer cells, while sparing normal prostate epithelial cells.