Piperine suppresses growth and migration of human breast cancer cells through attenuation of Rac1 expression

• Published in: Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine
• Main Authors: Benjaporn Buranrat, Mutita Junking
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2022
• Subjects: piperine; breast cancer cells; rac1; cell cycle; cell migration; mcf-7; mda-mb-231; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Biology (General); QH301-705.5; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.4103/2221-1691.333211; https://doaj.org/article/ece2d3826bf94c8ba58f20341ea0aa9d

Objective: To investigate the effect of piperine on human breast cancer cells. Methods: The effect of piperine on proliferation and migration of human breast cancer cells, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, was investigated using colony formation assays, wound healing assays, Matrigel migration assays, flow cytometry, RT-qPCR, and Western blotting assays. Results: Piperine inhibited the growth of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells and suppressed colony formation. Cell reduction at the G0/ G1 phase and cell arrest at the G2/M phase were observed in breast cancer cells. However, the significant effect was only demonstrated in MDA-MB-231 cells. Moreover, cancer cell migration was suppressed by piperine at low concentration. RT-qPCR and Western blotting assays showed that piperine downregulated Rac1 gene and protein expression. Conclusions: Piperine could inhibit growth and migration of breast cancer cells by reducing Rac1 gene and protein expression.