Rosmarinic Acid‐Induced Apoptosis and Cell Cycle Arrest in Triple‐Negative Breast Cancer Cells

Abstract

Rosmarinic acid (RA) is one of the potent polyphenolic compounds in rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) extract. The compound has shown various bioactive properties, including, anti‐inflammatory, immunomodulatory, anti‐mutagenic, hepatoprotective, and neuroprotective, as well as having antioxidant and anti‐cancer activity. This study evaluated the effects and mechanisms of RA in two triple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines; MDA‐MB‐231(MM‐231) and MDA‐MB‐468 (MM‐468); which were derived from a Caucasian and an African American woman, respectively. In this study, RA significantly and similarly inhibited cell viability and proliferation in both cell lines in a dose‐ and time‐dependent manner. The results obtained show that RA differentially affected the two cell lines in cell cycle arrest‐related apoptosis and in the alteration of the expression of many apoptosis‐involved genes. In MM‐231 cells, RA arrested the cells in the G0/G1 phase. In contrast, the data suggest that RA causes S‐phase arrest in MM‐468 cells and leads to a 2‐fold greater apoptotic effect than in MM‐231 cells. In MM‐231 cells, RA significantly upregulated the mRNA expression of three genes; harakiri (HRK), tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily 25 (TNFRSF25), and BCL2 interacting protein 3 (BNIP3). In contrast, in MM‐468 cell line, the compound induced a significant transcription activation in five genes, including (TNF), baculoviral IAP repeat‐containing 3 (BIRC3), receptor‐interacting serine/threonine‐protein kinase 2 (RIPK2), BNIP3, and growth arrest and DNA damage‐inducible 45 alpha (GADD45A). Furthermore, RA repressed the expression of TNF receptor superfamily 11B (TNFRSF11B) in MM‐231 cells in comparison to the ligand TNF superfamily member 10 (TNFSF10) in MM‐468 cells. In conclusion, the data suggest that the polyphenol RA may have therapeutic potential for TNBC. However, RA should be further evaluated for in‐vivo studies and in non‐cancer cells.Support or Funding InformationU54 RCMI