TJ-41 Induces Apoptosis and Potentiates the Apoptotic Effects of 5-FU in Breast Cancer Cell Lines

Figure 8

Proposed schema of molecular events involved in TJ-41 induced apoptosis in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. Exposing breast cancer cells to TJ-41 leads to environmental stress thus triggers the activation of JNK. We speculate that phosphorylation (activation) of JNK activates c-Jun which leads to the transcription of proapoptotic Bcl-2 genes. The resulting Bcl-2 proteins are translocated into the mitochondria and promotes the release of cytochrome c, possibly by forming a pore or a voltage-dependent anion channel [24] in the outer mitochondrial membrane. Once in the cytosol, cytochrome c activates procaspase-9, which, in turn, activates other “executioner” caspases such as caspase-3,- 6, and- 7, as a result, committing cell to under going apoptosis.