Oleanolic acid (OA) and its derivatives are a novel emerging class of compounds. Although OA exhibits potent anticancer and anti-inflammatory function, the potential effect of its new derivatives (SZC014) in human breast cancers has not been understood yet. In this investigation, we demonstrated the anticancer effect of SZC014, a novel OA derivative and identified the possible mechanisms by which SZC014 induced MCF-7 cell death. The biological functions of SZC014 were validated by MTT, migration and colony formation assays in breast cancer cells. Cell apoptosis was monitored by Annexin V- FITC assay. Intracellular ROS and cell cycle were measured by flow cytometric analysis. Western blot was used to detect protein expression level. Our present results fully demonstrated that SZC014 inhibits breast cancer cells proliferation, colony formation, and cell migration. Further investigation verified that ROS generation, apoptosis induction and G0/G1 phase arrest was observed in SZC014-treated MCF-7 cells. However, pretreatment with N-acetyl- L-cysteine (NAC), a ROS scavenger, increased the expression of procaspase-3. Additionally, SZC014 treatment suppressed the levels of Akt, phosphorylated-Akt (p-Akt), COX-2, p-p65 in the cytoplasmic and p65 in nuclear. Furthermore, the inhibition of p65 nuclear translocation was confirmed by immunofluorescence staining. These data show that SZC014 is an effectively selective anticancer agent against breast cancer cells, highlighting the potential use of this derivative as a breast cancer therapeutic agent.

The cytokinin two-component signal transduction system (TCS) is involved in many biological processes, including hormone signal transduction and plant growth regulation. Although cytokinin TCS has been well characterized in Arabidopsis thaliana, its role in tomato remains elusive.• In this study, we characterized the diversity and function of response regulator (RR) genes, a critical component of TCS, in tomato. In total, we identified 31 RR genes in the tomato genome. These SlRR genes were classified into three subgroups (type-A, type-B and type-C).• Various stress-responsive cis-elements were present in the tomato RR gene promoters.Their expression responses under pesticide treatment were evaluated by transcriptome analysis. Their expression under heat, cold, ABA, salinity and NaHCO 3 treatments was further investigated by qRT-PCR and complemented with the available transcription data under these treatments. Specifically, SlRR13 expression was significantly upregulated under salinity, drought, cold and pesticide stress and was downregulated under ABA treatment. SlRR23 expression was induced under salt treatment, while the transcription level of SlRR1 was increased under cold and decreased under salt stress.• We also found that GATA transcription factors played a significant role in the regulation of SlRR genes. Based on our results, tomato SlRR genes are involved in responses to abiotic stress in tomato and could be implemented in molecular breeding approaches to increase resistance of tomato to environmental stresses.