Presentation: 2025 ND EPSCoR Annual conference 

October 21, 2025, NDSU Memorial Union, Fargo, North Dakota

Investigation of Rhodiola Plant Extract on Bone Metastatic Breast Cancer Cells

Bone metastasis in breast cancer represents a particularly destructive stage of the disease, often resulting in weakened skeletal structure, limited treatment response, and reduced survival. The lack of reliable experimental models that capture the biological complexity of the bone niche has slowed the development of effective interventions. To address this need, an in situ HAPclay three-dimensional scaffold was applied as a bone-mimicking testbed for therapeutic evaluation. Within this platform, treatment with Rhodiola crenulata extract triggered extensive apoptotic activity in metastatic breast cancer cells, marked by dissipation of mitochondrial membrane potential, stimulation of the intrinsic protease cascade associated with early initiator caspases, and reinforcement of pathways governed by the p53 tumor suppressor network. Collectively, these molecular changes indicated a mitochondria-dependent route of programmed cell death. In contrast, bone-forming cells maintained viability when exposed to the same treatment, demonstrating the extract’s selectivity for malignant cells. This study provides the first evidence that Rhodiola crenulata can mobilize mitochondrial and tumor-suppressive signaling programs to eliminate breast cancer cells within bone while sparing normal skeletal tissue. The combination of a biomimetic HAPclay scaffold with a natural bioactive extract illustrates a promising strategy for advancing therapies against skeletal metastases of breast cancer.