{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T14:12:43Z","timestamp":1785420763397,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,18]],"date-time":"2026-04-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776470400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100005322","name":"Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Scientific Research Projects Unit","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["TSA-2020-1073"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["TSA-2020-1073"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100005322","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["TSA-2020-1073"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["TSA-2020-1073"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/0468j1635","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan University Development Foundation","award":["02026003011182"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["02026003011182"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pharmaceutics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background:\u00a0Lavandula stoechas has attracted increasing attention for its potential anticancer properties; however, evidence regarding its effects on apoptotic signaling across different tumor types remains limited. Methods: In this study, the effects of dry and fresh ethanol extracts of Lavandula stoechas L. subsp. stoechas (LsDE and LsFE) were investigated in MDA-MB-231 triple-negative breast cancer, RT4 bladder carcinoma, and T98G glioblastoma cell lines, providing a comparative evaluation of their apoptotic effects. Long-term proliferative capacity was assessed using clonogenic survival assays, while apoptosis-related responses were evaluated by Annexin V\u2013FITC\/propidium iodide staining, quantitative RT-PCR of BAX and BCL2 and Western blot analysis of Bax, Bcl-2, and cleaved PARP1. Results: Both extracts significantly reduced clonogenic survival in all tested cancer cell lines, with LsDE showing stronger inhibitory effects in RT4 and T98G cells. Annexin V\/PI analysis revealed cell type-dependent response patterns. In MDA-MB-231 cells, both extracts increased the proportion of PI-positive cells, suggesting a loss of membrane integrity, whereas RT4 cells exhibited increased early apoptotic and membrane-compromised populations. In contrast, T98G cells showed comparatively limited changes associated with apoptosis. Transcriptional analysis demonstrated extract- and cell line-specific modulation of the BAX\/BCL2 ratio. Western blot analysis further demonstrated activation of mitochondrial apoptotic signaling through coordinated regulation of Bax and Bcl-2 and increased PARP1 cleavage. LsFE showed the strongest apoptosis-associated changes in MDA-MB-231 cells, whereas LsDE showed stronger effects in T98G cells, while both extracts were effective in modulating these proteins in RT4 cells. Conclusions: These findings indicate that ethanol extracts of L. stoechas impair long-term proliferative capacity and induce tumor type-dependent modulation of apoptosis-related markers. This study provides an integrated experimental framework that combines clonogenic survival assays, apoptosis analyses, gene expression, and protein-level measurements, supporting further investigation of L. stoechas extracts in cancer research.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pharmaceutics18040500","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,20]],"date-time":"2026-04-20T09:37:42Z","timestamp":1776677862000},"page":"500","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Lavandula stoechas Ethanol Extracts Induce Apoptosis in Breast, Bladder, and Glioblastoma Cancer Cells"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7246-2592","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ihsan","family":"Nalkiran","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Rize 53020, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1115-2005","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hatice","family":"Sevim Nalkiran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Rize 53020, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"703","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cell.2008.08.021","article-title":"Cancer cell metabolism: Warburg and beyond","volume":"134","author":"Hsu","year":"2008","journal-title":"Cell"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2941","DOI":"10.1200\/JCO.1999.17.9.2941","article-title":"Dysregulation of apoptosis in cancer","volume":"17","author":"Reed","year":"1999","journal-title":"J. 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