Identification of multi-target effects of Huaier aqueous extract via microarray profiling in triple-negative breast cancer cells

Abstract

Abstract. Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world. Long-term maintenance treatment is important for breast cancer. However, effective maintenance treatment is lacking for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has shown its potential anticancer roles as an effective maintenance treatment for TNBC. However its mechanisms remained unclear. In this study, we detected the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) after treatment with Huaier aqueous extract by using microarray profiling in MDA-MB-231 cells. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis and gene-gene interaction network were conducted to confirm the altered biological functions induced by Huaier extract. Screening of DEGs gave 387 genes (226 upregulated and 161 downregulated) in MDA-MB-231 cells which were regulated significantly by Huaier extract. GO and KEGG pathway analysis suggested that a number of functions were affected by Huaier, including proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and angiogenesis. Gene-gene interaction network showed the detailed molecular signal-net. Based on microarray data, we studied several functions of Huaier extract and in return verified the results of microarray profiling. This study had important guidance roles and indicated new research directions.

Huaier Extract Inhibits Breast Cancer Progression Through a LncRNA-H19/MiR-675-5p Pathway

“…Fig. 6A shows that the CBL expression in breast cancer cells increased in a dose-dependent manner after exposure to Huaier extract, which was consistent with our previous microarray data [37]. As shown in Fig.…”

“…H19/miR-675-5p increases cell proliferation by regulating CBL. In addition, we previously showed that Huaier increased the CBL expression via microarray profiling on protein-coding genes [37]. Therefore, we supposed that CBL may be linked to the H19/miR-675-5p axis and may play a role in mediating the cytotoxic effects of Huaier extract.…”

Multiple effects of ellagic acid on human colorectal carcinoma cells identified by gene expression profile analysis

“…Therefore, it is important to reveal the targets and molecular mechanisms of EA induced inhibition of CRC cell growth. To this end, we used microarray profiling, which has provided remarkable insights in many areas of modern medical research (35). The colon adenocarcinoma cell HCT-116 is widely investigated as a reliable model to check their anti-proliferative properties for various drugs (36,37).…”

“…Thus, we chose 100 µM as the treatment concentration. In addition, based on literature, 72 h after the treatment is the time-point often used for microarray experiment of antitumor drugs, including the EA, by evidence of significant changes of gene expression and morphology (35,38). Preliminary screening for DEGs identified 857 genes (494 upregulated and 363 downregulated) in HCT-116 cells after 72 h of exposure to EA, which are the colon adenocarcinoma cells widely investigated as a reliable model to check their anti-proliferative properties for various drugs.…”

Huaier extract restrains the proliferative potential of endocrine-resistant breast cancer cells through increased ATM by suppressing miR-203

“…Accumulating evidence has underscored that TCM is a rich source for finding new drugs, and increasingly, TCM has been found to have anti-tumour effects on cancer 25 , 26 . Furthermore, TCM has revealed various effects on drug or radiation resistance 27 – 29 .…”