Department of Biomedical Engineering, Healthcare Engineering Innovation Center, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, 127788, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Khalifa University's Center for Biotechnology, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, 127788, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Sci Rep. 2022 Mar 29;12(1):5333. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-09299-2.
Phosphate ions are the most abundant anions inside the cells, and they are increasingly gaining attention as key modulators of cellular function and gene expression. However, little is known about the effect of inorganic phosphate ions on cancer cells, particularly breast cancer cells. Here, we investigated the toxicity of different phosphate compounds to triple-negative human breast cancer cells, particularly, MDA-MB-231, and compared it to that of human monocytes, THP-1. We found that, unlike dihydrogen phosphate (HPO), hydrogen phosphate (HPO) at 20 mM or lower concentrations induced breast cancer cell death more than immune cell death, mainly via apoptosis. We correlate this effect to the fact that phosphate in the form of HPO raises pH levels to alkaline levels which are not optimum for transport of phosphate into cancer cells. The results in this study highlight the importance of further exploring hydrogen phosphate (HPO) as a potential therapeutic for the treatment of breast cancer.
磷酸盐离子是细胞内含量最丰富的阴离子，它们作为细胞功能和基因表达的关键调节剂，正日益受到关注。然而，人们对无机磷酸盐离子对癌细胞，特别是乳腺癌细胞的影响知之甚少。在这里，我们研究了不同磷酸盐化合物对三阴性人乳腺癌细胞（特别是 MDA-MB-231）的毒性，并将其与人类单核细胞 THP-1 进行了比较。我们发现，与二氢磷酸盐（HPO）不同，20mM 或更低浓度的磷酸氢盐（HPO）诱导乳腺癌细胞死亡的程度超过免疫细胞死亡，主要通过细胞凋亡。我们将这种作用与这样一个事实联系起来，即 HPO 形式的磷酸盐会将 pH 值提高到碱性水平，这不利于磷酸盐进入癌细胞的运输。本研究的结果强调了进一步探索磷酸氢盐（HPO）作为治疗乳腺癌的潜在治疗方法的重要性。
