Berberine-induced nucleolar stress response in a human breast cancer cell line.

We investigated the novel molecular mechanisms of the antitumor effect of berberine. In this study, two different human cell lines (breast cancer MCF7 cells and non-tumorigenic epithelial MCF12A cells) were treated with various concentrations of berberine. Treatment with 1 and 10 μM berberine inhibited proliferation with G/G cell cycle arrest in both cell lines, and treatment with 100 μM berberine triggered a marked level of cell death in MCF7 cells but not in MCF12A cells.