Effect of triptolide on focal adhesion kinase and survival in MCF-7 breast cancer cells.

Triptolide, a diterpene from Tripterygium wilfordii, has been shown to have potent anticancer activity, exerting its effects through multiple molecular targets and signaling pathways. Yet, its effect on focal adhesion kinase (FAK), a non-receptor tyrosine kinase overexpressed in breast cancer that regulates cellular adhesion and survival, has not been reported. The current study is the first to report on the effect of triptolide on FAK expression, cell adhesion and survival using MCF-7 breast cancer cells.