Contemporary Oncology
eISSN: 1897-4309
ISSN: 1428-2526
Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia
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abstract:
Original paper

In silico approach and in vitro study of fangchinoline-induced apoptosis and reactive oxygen species production in HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells

Denny Satria
1
,
Poppy Anjelisa Zaitun Hasibuan
2
,
Masfria Masfria
3
,
Syukur Berkat Waruwu
4
,
Choo Yeun-Mun
5
,
Feri Eko Hermanto
6
,
Nashi Widodo
7

  1. Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia
  2. Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia
  3. Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia
  4. Pharmacist Professional Education, Faculty of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Universitas Sari Mutiara Indonesia, Medan, Indonesia
  5. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  6. Division of Computational Biology, Faculty of Animal Sciences, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia
  7. Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia
Contemp Oncol (Pozn) 2026; 30 (1)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/wo.2026.159783
Online publish date: 2026/03/03
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Introduction
Fangchinoline, a bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid derived from Stephaniae tetrandrine, is known for its antioxidant and anticancer potential. This study aimed to explore fangchinoline’s anticancer targets in silico and evaluate its effects on human epidermal growth receptor-2 (HER-2) overexpressing MCF-7 breast cancer cells.

Material and methods
Potential molecular targets were identified using GeneCards and DisGeNET, with intersecting genes analysed via DAVID and Cytoscape. Molecular docking and 50-nanosecond molecular dynamics simulations were conducted against ERBB2, IGF1R, and ADRB2 proteins. Cytotoxicity was evaluated through 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl)-2,5- diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay, while flow cytometry assessed cell cycle distribution, apoptosis, expression of PI3K, Akt, mTOR, p53, HER-2, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels.

Results
A total of 256 overlapping genes were identified, and ERBB2 emerged as the most promising target with a binding affinity of –8.57 kcal/mol. Fangchinoline exhibited cytotoxicity against MCF-7/HER-2 cells with an IC50 of 9.67 ±0.14 µM. Fangchinoline induced G2-M arrest and significantly increased apoptosis. Flow cytometry revealed downregulation of PI3K (–42.1%), Akt (–38.6%), and mTOR (–45.3%), with a corresponding upregulation of p53 (+59.8%) compared to controls. Reactive oxygen species production was elevated by +48.5% after treatment.

Conclusions
Fangchinoline exhibits promising anticancer activity by targeting ERBB2 and modulating critical oncogenic and apoptotic pathways. Its ability to upregulate p53 and ROS while suppressing PI3K/Akt/mTOR signalling suggests its strong potential as a HER-2-targeted therapeutic agent.

keywords:

breast cancer, molecular docking, apoptosis, fangchinoline, Stephaniae tetrandrine
RG
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