NJ262 Induces Apoptosis in Breast Cancer Cells

Abstract

Gene deletion in normal host cells is one of the prevailing causes of breast cancer in humans. In this investigation, breast cancer cell line, MCF-7, was treated with our newly discovered DNA polymorphic biomarker, NJ262, {NIH/NCBI Accession Number DQ676892}. NJ262 is present in normal human mammary epithelial cell line, MCF-10A but absent in breast cancer cell line, MCF-7. MCF-7 cells expressing NJ262 displayed cytoplasmic swelling and DNA laddering that are evidence of cell death by necrosis. Some of the transformed cells exhibit chromatin condensation, membrane blebbing, cytoplasmic condensation and nuclear membrane margination that are typical of cells death by apoptosis. NJ262 expression in MCF-7, therefore, induces cell death by both apoptosis and necrosis. The cell proliferation and apoptotic assays of transformed MCF-7 cells revealed that NJ262 reduced MCF-7 cell proliferation by over 50%, and increased cell death by 200%. This study, for the first time, showed that treatment of breast cancer cells with NJ262 down-regulated cell proliferation and drastically induced cell death in breast cancer cells.