Abstract
Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor in women and remains a major global challenge, with ~1.4 million cases per year, worldwide. Numerous studies have shown that changes in cell metabolism are associated with the regulation of tumor progression. In the present study, the anti-cancer properties of glyoxal (GO), which is the smallest dialdehyde formed in the oxidation-reduction reaction and involved in electron transfer and energy metabolism, in breast cancer was investigated. The biological functions and molecular mechanisms of GO were investigated in breast cancer cell lines using MTT and crystal violet assays, flow cytometry, western blot analysis, 3D laser scanning confocal microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that GO strongly inhibited cell proliferation, promoted cell apoptosis and cell cycle G2/M arrest, induced the disappearance of cellular microvilli, and enlarged mitochondria. In addition, the protein expression level of AKT, mTOR and p70-S6K decreased in the AKT-mTOR pathway, accompanied by an increase in p-ERK and p-MEK in the MAPK pathway. The results from the present study indicate that GO suppressed breast cancer progression via the MAPK and AKT-mTOR pathways. Taken together, these results provide the basis for a potential therapeutic strategy for breast cancer.