Inhibition of in vitro pancreatic cancer cell migration by circulating anthocyanins and their metabolites from plasma of human subjects

Abstract

Pancreatic tumor cell migration has important roles in cancer progression and is associated with poor prognosis. We investigated whether circulating plasma anthocyanins and their metabolites (PAM) deriving from fruit juice intake affect cell migration through modulation of the expression of matrix metalloproteinases MMP‐2 and MMP‐9. Ten healthy subjects consumed an anthocyanin‐rich fruit juice (840.9 mg/L). Before (PAM0min) and after (PAM60min) ingestion, blood samples were taken and PAM were prepared by centrifugation and subsequent solid phase extraction. PAM were subjected to the pancreatic cancer cell lines PANC‐1 and AsPC‐1 for 24 and 48 h. Finally, cell migration was determined in a Boyden chamber, the mRNA expression of MMP‐2, MMP‐9 as well as NF‐kB by real‐time PCR. Application of PAM60min lead to a reduced migration of PANC‐1 cells after 48h, whereas AsPC‐1 migration was not affected. Concomitantly, we observed reduced MMP‐2 and MMP‐9 as well as NF‐kB mRNA expression levels in PANC‐1. In contrary, AsPC‐1 showed lower level of NF‐kB which were not influenced by PAM60min. Also, MMP‐2 and ‐9 were not altered. Thus, it can be concluded that in dependency of the cancer phenotype anthocyanins and/or their metabolites may inhibit pancreatic cancer cell migration by reducing NF‐kB dependent MMP‐2 and ‐9 expressions in physiological concentrations.