Fig. 1.

Effects of RGE on viability and stemness properties of breast cancer cells. (A) MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, and MCF-10A cells were treated with RGE (0.5, 1 or 5 mg/mL) or vehicle for 48 h. The data are presented as means ± SD. (B) At the tertiary mammosphere state, cells cultured in a 96-well ultralow attachment surface plate were treated with RGE (1 or 2.5 mg/mL) for 5 days. The number, the size, and the shape of mammospheres were examined by phase-contrast microscopy. Illustrations are the representative phase-contrast photomicrographs of mammospheres, and the graph bars are presented based on the number of mammospheres bigger than 100 μm. The values are presented as means ± SD (n = 3). (C) MDA-MB-231 cells treated with 1 or 2.5 mg/mL of RGE for 48 h were stained with anti-CD44-APC and anti-CD24-PE. Flow cytometric dot plots represent changes in the proportion of CD44^high/CD24^low cells. Quadrant analysis of fluorescence intensity of gated cells in FL2 and FL4 channels was from 10,000 events. Numerical values in the cytogram indicate the percentage of gated cells in each quadrant. The values are expressed as means ± SD (n = 3). APC, allophycocyanin; RGE, red ginseng extract; SD, standard deviation.