Abstract
It was reported recently that allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) could inhibit various types of cancer cell growth. In the present study, we further investigated whether AITC could inhibit the growth of human breast cancer cells. Unexpectedly, we found that AITC did not inhibit, rather slightly promoted, the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells, although it did have inhibitory effect on MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Cytofluorimetric analysis revealed that AITC (10 µM) did not induce apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in MDA-MB-231 cells. In addition, AITC significantly (p < 0.05) increased the expression of BCL-2 and mTOR genes and Beclin-1 protein in MDA-MB-231 cells. No significant changes in expression of PRKAA1 and PER2 genes, Caspase-8, Caspase-9, PARP, p-mTOR, and NF-κB p65 proteins were observed in these AITC-treated cells. Importantly, AITC displayed cytotoxic effect on MCF-10A human breast epithelial cell line. These observations suggest that AITC may not have inhibitory activity in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. This in vitro study warrants more preclinical and clinical studies on the beneficial and harmful effects of AITC in healthy and cancer cells.
Highlights
Breast cancer has been a leading cause of cancer-associated death in females worldwide
We further investigated whether allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) could inhibit the growth of human breast cancer cells
We planned the experiment to investigate whether AITC can inhibit proliferation of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells
Summary
Breast cancer has been a leading cause of cancer-associated death in females worldwide. Available treatments of this cancer show unsatisfactory efficacy. In addition to development of drug-resistance and side-effects of therapy, the risk of cancer recurrence after therapy is high. To find safe and effective drugs, research has focused on natural compounds because of their safe nature. Several compounds have been proposed as anti-breast cancer agent based on in vitro and animal studies [1,2]. Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC; 3-isothiocyanato-1-propene, CH2CHCH2NCS) is a sulfur containing organic compound and is an enzymatic hydrolysis product of the glucosinolate sinigrin present in various cruciferous vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts (8.9 μmol/g dry wt), cauliflower (9.3 μmol/g dry wt), cabbage (7.8 μmol/g dry wt), horseradish (0.91–144 μmol/g dry wt), kale (10.4 μmol/g dry wt), and wasabi (0.015–0.0162 μmol/g fresh wt) [3,4,5]. Its bioavailability is extremely high [6,7]
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