Ginsenoside (20S)-protopanaxatriol induces non-protective autophagy and apoptosis by inhibiting Akt/mTOR signaling pathway in triple-negative breast cancer cells.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks a recognized therapeutic molecular target and has an unfavorable prognosis. (20S)-Protopanaxatriol (g-PPT, PPT) is an active metabolite extracted from ginseng. Accumulating evidence suggests that it has good anti-cancer activity in vivo and in vitro. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the anti-tumor effects of PPT in TNBC cells and tumor-bearing mice, as well as the relevant molecular mechanisms of autophagy and apoptosis. In vitro , we have found that PPT is capable of inducing non-protective autophagy and apoptosis, thus exerting some anti-proliferative and anti-migration activity in TNBC cells. And in vivo , the therapeutic effects of PPT were evaluated by xenograft mouse models. The potential binding mode of PPT and Akt was predicted by molecular docking. Our findings indicated that PPT treatment induced non-protective autophagy in TNBC cells by inhibiting the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. Therefore, PPT may be a potential treatment for TNBC in the future. • PPT exerted anti-cancer effect in TNBC cells both in vitro and in vivo. • PPT activates apoptosis and non-protective autophagy in TNBC cells. • PPT activates apoptosis and autophagy by inhibiting Akt/mTOR pathway in TNBC cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]