Curcumin modulates miR-19/PTEN/AKT/p53 axis to suppress bisphenol A-induced MCF-7 breast cancer cell proliferation

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Bisphenol A (BPA), as a known endocrine disrupter, is closely related to the development of breast cancer. Curcumin has been clinically used in chemopreventation and treatment of cancer; however, it remains unknown whether microRNAs are involved in curcumin-mediated protection from BPA-associated promotive effects on breast cancer. In the present study, we showed that BPA exhibited estrogenic activity by increasing the proliferation of estrogen-receptor-positive MCF-7 human breast cancer cells and triggering transition of the cells from G1 to S phase. Curcumin inhibited the proliferative effects of BPA on MCF-7 cells. Meanwhile, BPA-induced upregulation of oncogenic miR-19a and miR-19b, and the dysregulated expression of miR-19-related downstream proteins, including PTEN, p-AKT, p-MDM2, p53, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen, were reversed by curcumin. Furthermore, the important role of miR-19 in BPA-mediated MCF-7 cell proliferation was also illustrated. These results suggest for the first time that curcumin modulates miR-19/PTEN/AKT/p53 axis to exhibit its protective effects against BPA-associated breast cancer promotion. Findings from this study could provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms by which BPA exerts its breast-cancer-promoting effect as well as its target intervention.