Nitric oxide (
•
NO) is one of the prominent
free
radicals, playing a pivotal role in breast cancer progression. Hyaluronic
acid (HA) plays an essential role in neutralizing free radicals in
tumor tissues. However, its interactions with nitric oxide have not
been thoroughly investigated. Hence, this study attempts to understand
the mechanism of these interactions and the different effects on the
intracellular
•
NO levels and migration of breast
cancer cells. The affinity of HA to scavenge
•
NO
was investigated alongside the accompanying changes in specific physico-chemical
properties and the further effects on the
•
NO-induced
attachment and migration of the breast cancer cell lines, MDA-MB-231
and HCC1806. The reaction of the nitrogen dioxide radical, formed
via
•
NO/O
2
interactions, with HA initiated
a series of oxidative reactions, which, in the presence of
•
NO, induce the fragmentation of the polymeric chains. Furthermore,
these interactions were found to hinder the NO-induced migration of
cancer cells. However, the NO-induced HA modification/fragmentation
was inhibited in the presence of hemin, a NO-scavenging compound.
Collectively, these results help toward understanding the involvement
of HA in the
•
NO-induced cell migration and suggest
the possible modification of HA, used as one of the main materials
in different biomedical applications.