Icariin inhibits autophagy and promotes apoptosis by regulating mitochondrial division in Triple-negative breast cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks targeted therapies and effective treatments, emphasizing the need for new drugs. Abnormal mitochondrial fission-fusion dynamics are closely linked to poor prognosis and invasiveness in TNBC. Icariin (ICA), a flavonoid glycoside, exhibits anti-cancer effects by inhibiting cell proliferation, metastasis, autophagy induction, and apoptosis through diverse pathways. This study explores how ICA affects mitochondrial fission-fusion in TNBC cells and its specific mechanism behind its anti-tumor effect. Experimental results show that; ICA can inhibit cell autophagy by suppressing the Dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1)-mediated mitochondrial fission pathway in TNBC and promote cell apoptosis through excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). To sum up, our results further elucidate the anticancer mechanism of ICA in TNBC and provide potential targets for the development of new drugs.