ArticleScientific reports2018
Vitamin C promotes apoptosis in breast cancer cells by increasing TRAIL expression.
Article in Scientific reports, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers.
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Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 83 citations in OpenAlex.
- The SLC-ome of membrane transport: from molecular discovery to physiology and clinical applications.Physiological reviews · 2026Review
- Plasma Vitamin C Levels in Distinguishing Benign from Malignant Breast Tumors and Clinical Correlates in Chinese Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study.Breast cancer (Dove Medical Press) · 2026Article
- 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine: a key epigenetic mark in cancer and chemotherapy response.Epigenetics & chromatin · 2025Review
- The role of vitamin C in melanoma cell death via activation of cytochrome C and TNF-α protein expression.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Melatonin and Vitamins: A Promising Combination to Augment Conventional Anticancer Therapies.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Pharmacological Vitamin C-induced high HJournal of translational medicine · 2025Article
- Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators' (SERMs) Influence onInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Micronutrient Status and Breast Cancer: A Narrative Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- The level of active DNA demethylation compounds in leukocytes and urine samples as potential epigenetic biomarkers in breast cancer patients.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- TET Enzymes and 5hmC Levels in Carcinogenesis and Progression of Breast Cancer: Potential Therapeutic Targets.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Vitamin C: From nutrition to oxygen sensing and epigenetics.Redox biology · 2023Article
- Cytotoxic and Antioxidative Effects of Geranium Oil and Ascorbic Acid Coloaded in Niosomes against MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells.ACS omega · 2023Article
- Review Article a Multidisciplinary Evaluation for Advanced Supportive Care of Breast Cancer Patients.Breast care (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Epigenetic Regulators of DNA Cytosine Modification: Promising Targets for Cancer Therapy.Biomedicines · 2023Review
- Exosome-Transmitted tRF-16-K8J7K1B Promotes Tamoxifen Resistance by Reducing Drug-Induced Cell Apoptosis in Breast Cancer.Cancers · 2023Article
- High-Dose Intravenous Ascorbate in Sepsis, a Pro-Oxidant Enhanced Microbicidal Activity and the Effect on Neutrophil Functions.Biomedicines · 2022Review
- The Effect of Anthocyanins fromAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2022Article
- Vitamin C Suppresses Pancreatic Carcinogenesis through the Inhibition of Both Glucose Metabolism and Wnt Signaling.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
- Anti-neoplastic action of Cimetidine/Vitamin C on histamine and the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway in Ehrlich breast cancer.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Tet Enzymes-Mediated DNA 5hmC Modification in Cerebral Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Injury.Neurotoxicity research · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Genomic loss of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) accompanies malignant cellular transformation in breast cancer. Vitamin C serves as a cofactor for TET methylcytosine dioxygenases to increase 5hmC generation. Here we show that the transcription of SVCT2, a major vitamin C transporter, was decreased in human breast cancers (113 cases) compared to normal breast tissues from the same patients. A decreased SVCT2 expression was also observed in breast cancer cell lines. Treatment with vitamin C (100 μM) increased the 5hmC content in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and markedly altered the transcriptome. The vitamin C treatment induced apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 cells, which was verified in two additional breast cancer cell lines. This pro-apoptotic effect of vitamin C appeared to be mediated by TRAIL, a known apoptosis inducer. Vitamin C upregulated TRAIL transcripts (2.3-fold increase) and increased TRAIL protein levels. The upregulation of TRAIL by vitamin C was largely abolished by siRNAs targeting TETs and anti-TRAIL antibody abrogated the induction of apoptosis. Furthermore, the apoptosis promoted by vitamin C was associated with Bax and caspases activation, Bcl-xL sequestration, and cytochrome c release. Taken together, these results suggest a potential role of physiological doses of vitamin C in breast cancer prevention and treatment.
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