Fig. 3

Palmitate induces G2-phase cell cycle delay and apoptosis in HER2/neu-positive SKBR3 breast cancer cells. a MCF7 and SKBR3 cells were treated with 250 μM palmitate or vehicle for 24 h. C16 = palmitate. Cells were ethanol-fixed and DNA content was analyzed by propidium iodide staining and flow cytometry analysis. Cell cycle phases were determined using FlowJo software. b MCF7 and SKBR3 cells were treated with 250 μM palmitate or vehicle for 48 h, fixed in paraformaldehyde and subjected to Apo-BrdU DNA end-labeling. A FITC-labeled anti-BrdU antibody was used to detect incorporated BrdU by flow cytometry. c MCF7 and SKBR3 cells were treated with 250 μM palmitate or vehicle for 24 h. Dead cells were monitored for propidium iodide uptake via flow cytometry. Data were analyzed using FlowJo software and normalized to control conditions. Statistical analysis was carried out in Graphpad Prism. Data are presented as mean ± SD. * = p · 0.05, ** = p · 0.01, Student’s t-test, n = 3