Department of Cell and Tissue Engineering, Changhua 500, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Cancer Research Center, Department of Research, Changhua 500, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Am J Chin Med. 2020;48(5):1221-1241. doi: 10.1142/S0192415X20500603.
Tamoxifen is one of the most common hormone therapy drug for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. Tumor cells with drug resistance often cause recurrence and metastasis in cancer patients. Luteolin is a natural compound found from various types of vegetables and exhibit anticancer activity in different cancers. This study demonstrated that luteolin inhibits the proliferation and induces apoptosis of tamoxifen-resistant ER-positive breast cancer cells. Luteolin also causes cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase and decreases mitochondrial membrane potential. Besides, luteolin reduces the levels of activated PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. The combination treatment of luteolin and PI3K, AKT, or mTOR inhibitors synergistically increases apoptosis in tamoxifen-resistant ER-positive breast cancer cells. Ras gene family (K-Ras, H-Ras, and N-Ras), an activator of PI3K, was transcriptionally repressed by luteolin via induction of tumor suppressor mixed-lineage leukemia 3 (MLL3) expression. MLL3 increases the level of monomethylation of Histone 3 Lysine 4 on the enhancer and promoter region of Ras genes, thus causes repression of Ras expressions. Our finding implies that luteolin was a promising natural agent against tamoxifen resistance of breast cancer.
他莫昔芬是治疗雌激素受体(ER)阳性乳腺癌最常用的激素治疗药物之一。具有耐药性的肿瘤细胞常导致癌症患者复发和转移。木樨草素是一种天然化合物,存在于各种蔬菜中,并在不同癌症中表现出抗癌活性。本研究表明,木樨草素抑制耐药性 ER 阳性乳腺癌细胞的增殖并诱导其凋亡。木樨草素还导致细胞周期停滞在 G2/M 期,并降低线粒体膜电位。此外,木樨草素降低了激活的 PI3K/AKT/mTOR 信号通路的水平。木樨草素与 PI3K、AKT 或 mTOR 抑制剂联合治疗可协同增加耐药性 ER 阳性乳腺癌细胞的凋亡。Ras 基因家族(K-Ras、H-Ras 和 N-Ras)是 PI3K 的激活剂,木樨草素通过诱导肿瘤抑制因子混合谱系白血病 3(MLL3)的表达来转录抑制其表达。MLL3 增加 Ras 基因增强子和启动子区域组蛋白 3 赖氨酸 4 的单甲基化水平,从而抑制 Ras 表达。我们的发现表明,木樨草素是一种有前途的天然抗乳腺癌他莫昔芬耐药药物。