Zhang Aijia, Ai Limei
Department of General Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
Department of Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, China.
Asia Pac J Clin Oncol. 2025 Feb;21(1):3-11. doi: 10.1111/ajco.14125. Epub 2024 Sep 28.
Breast cancer is a prevalent and aggressive malignancy associated with elevated mortality rates worldwide. Dysregulation of the c-MYC oncogene and aberrant activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathway are common features in breast cancer progression, rendering them attractive therapeutic targets. Here, we assessed the effects of the plant derivative, xanthine, on breast cancer cells and explored the molecular mechanisms underlying its activity.
Breast cancer cell lines were treated with xanthine, followed by assessment of c-MYC expression levels. Cell proliferation, invasion, and migration were analyzed to assess the effects of xanthine treatment on breast cancer cell behavior.
Xanthine treatment induced a decrease in c-MYC expression, resulting in significant inhibition of breast cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and migration. Mechanistic investigations revealed that these effects were mediated by suppression of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.
Xanthine shows great potential for breast cancer treatment by targeting c-MYC via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Our findings indicate that development of xanthine as a novel treatment option for breast cancer, which acts by influencing key oncogenic pathways involved in tumor progression, may be warranted.
乳腺癌是一种在全球范围内普遍存在且侵袭性强的恶性肿瘤，其死亡率较高。c-MYC原癌基因失调以及磷脂酰肌醇3激酶（PI3K）/蛋白激酶B（AKT）信号通路的异常激活是乳腺癌进展中的常见特征，使其成为有吸引力的治疗靶点。在此，我们评估了植物衍生物黄嘌呤对乳腺癌细胞的影响，并探讨了其活性背后的分子机制。
用黄嘌呤处理乳腺癌细胞系，随后评估c-MYC表达水平。分析细胞增殖、侵袭和迁移情况，以评估黄嘌呤处理对乳腺癌细胞行为的影响。
黄嘌呤处理导致c-MYC表达降低，从而显著抑制乳腺癌细胞的增殖、侵袭和迁移。机制研究表明，这些作用是通过抑制PI3K/AKT信号通路介导的。
黄嘌呤通过PI3K/AKT信号通路靶向c-MYC，在乳腺癌治疗中显示出巨大潜力。我们的研究结果表明，开发黄嘌呤作为一种通过影响肿瘤进展中关键致癌途径起作用的乳腺癌新治疗选择可能是有必要的。
