Pharmacology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, The British University in Egypt, Cairo, Egypt.
Health Research Center of Excellence, Drug Research and Development Group, Faculty of Pharmacy, The British University in Egypt, Cairo, Egypt.
Sci Rep. 2024 Aug 6;14(1):18181. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-65508-0.
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype of breast cancer that lacks an actionable target with limited treatment options beyond conventional chemotherapy. Therapeutic failure is often encountered due to inherent or acquired resistance to chemotherapy. Previous studies implicated PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway in cancer stem cells (CSCs) enrichment and hence chemoresistance. The present study aimed at investigating the potential effect of piperine (PIP), an amide alkaloid isolated from Piper nigrum, on enhancing the sensitivity of TNBC cells to doxorubicin (DOX) in vitro on MDA-MB-231 cell line and in vivo in an animal model of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma solid tumor. Results showed a synergistic interaction between DOX and PIP on MDA-MB-231 cells. In addition, the combination elicited enhanced suppression of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling that paralleled an upregulation in this pathway's negative regulator, PTEN, along with a curtailment in the levels of the CSCs surrogate marker, aldehyde dehydrogenase-1 (ALDH-1). Meanwhile, in vivo investigations demonstrated the potential of the combination regimen to enhance necrosis while downregulating PTEN and curbing PI3K levels as well as p-Akt, mTOR, and ALDH-1 immunoreactivities. Notably, the combination failed to change cleaved poly-ADP ribose polymerase levels suggesting a pro-necrotic rather than pro-apoptotic mechanism. Overall, these findings suggest a potential role of PIP in decreasing the resistance to DOX in vitro and in vivo, likely by interfering with the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway and CSCs.
三阴性乳腺癌(TNBC)是一种侵袭性乳腺癌亚型,缺乏可靶向治疗的靶点,除了传统化疗外,治疗选择有限。由于对化疗的固有或获得性耐药,治疗失败经常发生。先前的研究表明,PI3K/Akt/mTOR 信号通路参与了癌症干细胞(CSCs)的富集,从而导致了化疗耐药。本研究旨在研究胡椒碱(PIP),一种从 Piper nigrum 中分离出的酰胺生物碱,对增强 TNBC 细胞对阿霉素(DOX)在 MDA-MB-231 细胞系中的体外敏感性以及 Ehrlich 腹水癌实体瘤动物模型中的体内敏感性的潜在作用。结果表明,DOX 和 PIP 对 MDA-MB-231 细胞具有协同作用。此外,该组合还引发了 PI3K/Akt/mTOR 信号通路的增强抑制,与该通路的负调节剂 PTEN 的上调以及 CSCs 替代标志物醛脱氢酶-1(ALDH-1)水平的降低平行。同时,体内研究表明,联合方案具有增强坏死的潜力,同时下调 PTEN 并抑制 PI3K 水平以及 p-Akt、mTOR 和 ALDH-1 免疫反应性。值得注意的是,该组合未能改变切割的多聚 ADP 核糖聚合酶水平,这表明其是一种促坏死而非促凋亡的机制。总的来说,这些发现表明 PIP 具有降低 TNBC 细胞对 DOX 的耐药性的潜力,可能是通过干扰 PI3K/Akt/mTOR 通路和 CSCs。
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