External Qi of Yan Xin Qigong Induces Apoptosis and Inhibits Migration and Invasion of Estrogen-Independen t Breast Cancer Cells Through Suppression of Akt/NF-kB Signaling.

The antitumor effects of external Qi of Yan Xin Qigong
(YXQ-EQ) have been widely described over the past three decades. To gain a
better understanding of the mechanisms underlying YXQ-EQ\'s antitumor effects,
in the present study we investigated its effects on growth, migration, invasion
and apoptosis of breast cancer cells and the underlying molecular mechanisms.
We show that YXQ-EQ treatment caused a time-dependent reduction in viability,
blocked clonogenic growth and induced apoptosis in estrogen-independen t breast
cancer MDA-MB-231 cells. Furthermore, YXQ-EQ treatment blocked migration and
invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells. Biochemically, YXQ-EQ treatment markedly
inhibited constitutive and EGF-induced Akt phosphorylation. YXQ-EQ also
substantially repressed NF-kappaB activity, resulting in decreased expression
of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2, Bcl-X(L), XIAP and survivin proteins. These findings
suggest that YXQ-EQ may induce apoptosis and inhibition of migration and invasion
of MDA-MB-231 cells through the repression of Akt/NF-kappaB signaling.