Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 25, 2026

Orthotopic Transplantation of Breast Tumors as Preclinical Models for Breast Cancer
Published on: May 18, 2020
Cellular responses of BRCA1-defective HCC1937 breast cancer cells induced by the antimetastasis ruthenium(II) arene
Tidarat Nhukeaw1, Khwanjira Hongthong1, Paul J Dyson2
1Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Prince of Songkla University, Hat-Yai, Songkhla, 90112, Thailand.
Abstract:
An organometallic ruthenium(II) arene compound, Ru(η6-toluene)(PTA)Cl2 (PTA = 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane), termed RAPTA-T, exerts promising antimetastatic properties. In this study, the effects of RAPTA-T on BRCA1-defective HCC1937 breast cancer cells have been investigated, and compared to its effects on BRCA1-competent MCF-7 breast cancer cells. RAPTA-T showed a very low cytotoxicity against both tested cells. Ruthenium is found mostly in the cytoplasmic compartment of both cells. Flow cytometric analysis reveals that the compound arrests the growth of both cells by triggering the G2/M phase that led to the induction of apoptosis. At equimolar concentrations, RAPTA-T causes much more cellular BRCA1 damage in HCC1937 than in MCF-7 cells, suppressing the expression of BRCA1 mRNA in both cell lines with the subsequent down-regulation of the BRCA1 protein. Interestingly, RAPTA-T exhibits an approximately fivefold greater ability to suppress the expression of the BRCA1 protein in HCC1937 than in MCF-7 cells. These data provide insights into the molecular mechanisms by which RAPTA-T exerts its effects on BRCA1-associated breast cancer cells.
Related Concept Videos
Inflammatory Response I: Vascular and Cellular
Mechanisms of Retrovirus-induced Cancers
Organic Compounds
Molecules and Compounds
Elements and Compounds
Elements
Elements are classified as atomic or molecular based on the nature of their basic units. They are unique forms of matter with specific chemical and physical properties that cannot break down into smaller substances by ordinary chemical reactions. There...
Lumber Defects
Shakes are minor fractures that run along or across the wood's annual rings, while wane is...

