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Inhibitory effects of capsaicin on migration and invasion of breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells and its mechanism

LI Bai-He, YUAN Lei^*

Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Luohe Medical College, Luohe 462002, China

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of capsaicin on migration and invasion of breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells and its possible mechanism. The MDA-MB-231 cells were incubated in the medium containing different concentrations of capsaicin for 24 h. CCK-8 assay was employed to detect the cell viability. The cell migration and invasion were assessed by wound healing assay and transwell invasion assay, respectively. The protein levels of c-Src, p-c-Src (Tyr416), FAK, p-FAK (Tyr576), Paxillin, p-Paxillin (Tyr118), matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) and MMP9 in the MDA-MB-231 cells were detected by Western blotting. The mRNA expressions of MMP2 and MMP9 were measured by RT-PCR. The result showed that capsaicin (25 and 50 μmol/L) remarkably reduced the abilities of migration and invasion (P < 0.05), inhibited the phosphorylation of c-Src, FAK and Paxillin (P < 0.05), and down-regulated MMP2 and MMP9 expressions at mRNA and protein levels (P < 0.05) in MDA-MB-231 cells. These effects of capsaicin were all in dose-dependent manners. These results suggest that capsaicin may suppress the migration and invasion of breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells by inhibiting the phosphorylations of c-Src, FAK and Paxillin, and down-regulating the mRNA and protein levels of MMP2 and MMP9.

Key words: capsaicin; breast cancer ; migration ; invasion ; MDA-MB-231 cells

Received: 2016-08-22　　Accepted: 2016-11-01

Corresponding author: 袁磊　　E-mail: fzyx_yl@163.com

Citing This Article：

LI Bai-He, YUAN Lei. Inhibitory effects of capsaicin on migration and invasion of breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells and its mechanism. Acta Physiol Sin 2017; 69 (2): 183-188 (in Chinese with English abstract).