Centella asiatica aqueous extract inhibits motility of VGSCs-expressing MDA-MB-231 cells without affecting cell growth
Noor Fatmawati Mokhtar
Targeting nNav1.5, a potent metastasis marker in breast cancer using VGSCs blockers founded in a ‘back-to-nature’ strategy might improve treatment avenues with fewer or no undesirable side effects. The potential of Centella asiatica aqueous extract to inhibit cell motility was examined on the strongly metastatic breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 cells. Cells were treated with Centella asiatica aqueous extract ranging from 0.1-10µg/ml for 24h followed by total RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis and PCR. MTT and motility assays were conducted to measure the effect of the plant extract on growth and cell motility. Growth of MDA-MB-231 cells was not affected by any tested concentration (0.1- 10 µg/ml) of Centella asiatica aqueous extract but importantly, motility of the cells was suppressed significantly in a dose-dependent manner followed by down-regulation of the nNav1.5 gene expression was observed. Overall, Centella asiatica aqueous extract inhibit cell motility without affecting cell growth via nNav1.5 gene down-regulation.