Experimental study on Inhibition of Autophagy in Triple-negative Breast Cancer Mice by Microbubble-enhanced Irradiation with Low-frequency Ultrasound
SHAO Jian-bin
FANG Yin
Abstract：Objective: To investigate the role of low-frequency ultrasound (LFUS) combined with microbubble enhancement in inhibiting autophagy in a mouse model of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Methods: A total of 32 SPF-grade BALB/C mice were randomly divided into four groups: control group, TNBC group, LFUS group, and LFUS+M group. The mice in each group were treated with tail vein injection of normal saline, establishment of TNBC model via tumor xenotransplantation + normal saline injection, LFUS irradiation, and sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles (SonoVue) + LFUS irradiation, respectively. The tumor growth curves and survival status of TNBC in the four groups of mice were monitored. Western blotting was used to determine the expression level of autophagy-related proteins, and MTT assay and flow cytometry were used to detect the proliferation of mammary tumor cells in each group. Results: Compared with the control group, the tumor volume of mice in the LFUS group and LFUS+M group was significantly reduced. The tumor growth curve of the LFUS group slowed down compared with that of the TNBC group, while the tumor volume of the LFUS+M group decreased significantly on the 4th day, and the tumor tissue growth trend was slower than that of the TNBC group and the LFUS group, and the survival time was prolonged. The Bcl-2 and Bax levels of breast tumor histiocytes in the LFUS+M group were lower than those in the other three groups, Beclin1 was higher than those in the control group and TNBC group, and LC3II/LC3I was higher than that in the control group and the other two groups (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Low-frequency ultrasound microbubble-enhanced irradiation can significantly inhibit the tumor volume growth in TNBC mice, and inhibit their proliferative activity by promoting the autophagy ability of tumor cells, with particularly obvious effects on Bcl-2 and Beclin1, prolonging the survival time of mice.
Keywords：low-frequency ultrasound(LFUS)microbubble-enhanced irradia-tiontriple-negative breast cancerautophagycellapoptosis
Publication Date：2025-03-31
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 34-39 )