ArticlePloS one2010
Docosahexaenoic acid induces apoptosis in MCF-7 cells in vitro and in vivo via reactive oxygen species formation and caspase 8 activation.
Article in PloS one, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 95 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
95 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 218 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mediterranean Diet and Risk of Pancreatic Cancer-Is It Worth Investigating More? An Updated Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies.Cancer medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation attenuates changes in the concentration, phenotype, and response of immune peripheral blood cells in breast cancer patients undergoing neoadjuvant therapy. Secondary findings from the DHA-WIN trial.Breast cancer research : BCR · 2025Trial
- Fatty Acids in Cancer Therapy: Chemical Conjugates, Nanocarriers, and Therapeutic Opportunities.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Inflammation- and resolution-programmed myeloid circuits govern therapeutic resistance in epithelial and mesenchymal triple-negative breast cancer.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2026Article
- The omega-3 DHA induces pyroptosis and mitochondrial dysfunction in ovarian cancer cells via ROS and caspase-1 activation.Cell death discovery · 2026Article
- ACSL6 modulates docosahexaenoic acid-induced cytotoxicity to potentiate chemotherapy response in colorectal and breast cancer.Oncogenesis · 2025Article
- The Role of Omega-3 and Omega-6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Supplementation in Human Health.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Mode and Mechanism of Action of Omega-3 and Omega-6 Unsaturated Fatty Acids in Chronic Diseases.Nutrients · 2025Review
- The Impact of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Cancer and Therapeutic Strategies.Current nutrition reports · 2025Review
- Omega-3 fatty acids: molecular weapons against chemoresistance in breast cancer.Cellular & molecular biology letters · 2025Review
- Article
- Synergic Role of Dietary Bioactive Compounds in Breast Cancer Chemoprevention and Combination Therapies.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Unsaturated Fatty Acid Synthesis Is Associated with Worse Survival and Is Differentially Regulated byCancers · 2024Article
- Two new adenopeptins B and C inhibit sphere formation of pancreatic cancer cells.The Journal of antibiotics · 2024Article
- Potential Otubain1 Inhibitor, an Approach for a Treatment against Breast Cancer.International journal of molecular and cellular medicine · 2024Article
- Understanding the Role of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in the Development and Prevention of Cancer.Cancer treatment and research · 2024Review
- Anti-cancer potentiality of linoelaidic acid isolated from marine Tapra fish oil (Ophisthopterus tardoore) via ROS generation and caspase activation on MCF-7 cell line.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- The Involvement of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Apoptosis Mechanisms and Their Implications in Cancer.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- SELENOF Controls Proliferation and Cell Death in Breast-Derived Immortalized and Cancer Cells.Cancers · 2023Article
- Promising Effects ofMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
35 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe present study sought to further investigate the in vitro and in vivo anticancer effects of a representative omega-3 fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), with a focus on assessing the induction of oxidative stress and apoptosis as an important mechanism for its anticancer actions. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL
findingsIn vitro studies showed that DHA strongly reduces the viability and DNA synthesis of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells in culture, and also promotes cell death via apoptosis. Mechanistically, accumulation of reactive oxygen species and activation of caspase 8 contribute critically to the induction of apoptotic cell death. Co-presence of antioxidants or selective inhibition or knockdown of caspase 8 each effectively abrogates the cytotoxic effect of DHA. Using athymic nude mice as an in vivo model, we found that feeding animals the 5% fish oil-supplemented diet for 6 weeks significantly reduces the growth of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells in vivo through inhibition of cancer cell proliferation as well as promotion of cell death. Using 3-nitrotyrosine as a parameter, we confirmed that the fish oil-supplemented diet significantly increases oxidative stress in tumor cells in vivo. Analysis of fatty acid content in plasma and tissues showed that feeding animals a 5% fish oil diet increases the levels of DHA and eicosapentaenoic acid in both normal and tumorous mammary tissues by 329% and 300%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: DHA can strongly induce apoptosis in human MCF-7 breast cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo. The induction of apoptosis in these cells is selectively mediated via caspase 8 activation. These observations call for further studies to assess the effectiveness of fish oil as a dietary supplement in the prevention and treatment of human breast cancer.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.