Abstract:Objective To investigate the effects of daidzein on proliferation, migration and invasion of breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 and its related mechanisms. Methods Breast cancer MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells were cultured in vitro. The effects of daidzein at different concentrations (0,40,80,160μmol/L) on the viability, colony forming ability, migration and invasion of breast cancer cells were detected by CCK-8 test, plate clone formation test, cell scratch test and Transwell assay. The expression of Wnt/ β-catenin signaling pathway related proteins (Wnt-3a, β-catenin) and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) related proteins (E-cadherin, Vimentin, Slug, Twist) in breast cancer cells were detected by Western Blot. Results Daidzein significantly inhibited the viability of breast cancer cells MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.05). With the increase of daidzein concentration, the clone formation ability, migration and invasion ability of breast cancer cells decreased gradually (P<0.05). The expression level of E-cadherin in breast cancer cells increased, while the protein expression levels of β-catenin, Wnt-3a, Vimentin, Slug and Twist decreased significantly by the intervention of daidzein (P<0.05). Conclusion Daidzein may inhibit the proliferation, invasion and migration of breast cancer cells MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 by affecting the expression of Wnt/ β-catenin signaling pathway-related proteins and EMT-related proteins, thus inhibit tumor development.