Antiproliferative Activity of Some Catechins against Her2/neu-Overexpressing Human Breast Carcinoma SKBR3

Four catechins were assessed for antiproliferative activities against human breast carcinoma cells SKBR3 overexpressing Her2/neu as well as against human colon carcinoma cells SW620, not overexpressing Her2/neu, which serves as a reference. As a result, (-)-epigallocatechin gallate and (-)-epigallocatechin inhibited the growth of SKBR3 cells at nearly the same concentration (IC_<50> 37.7±5.7nM and 41.7±9.2 μM, respectively). In contrast, the catechol-type catechins: (-)-epicatechin and (+)-catechin showed much lower activities (both IC_<50> >150 μM). Furthermore, no catechins inhibited SW620 cell growth even with 150 μM. These results suggested that not only (-)-epigallocatechin gallate but also (-)-epigallocatechin can be a potential candidate for prognostic treatments of breast cancer overexpressing Her2/neu protein.