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Brown Seaweed Fucoidan Inhibits Cancer Progression by Dual Regulation of mir-29c/ADAM12 and miR-17-5p/PTEN Axes in

Szu-Yuan Wu1, Alexander T H Wu2, Kevin Sheng-Po Yuan3

  • 1Institute of Toxicology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan;; Department of Radiation Oncology, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan;; Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan;; Department of Biotechnology, Hungkuang University, Taichung, Taiwan.

Journal of Cancer
|December 21, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Brown seaweed fucoidan inhibits breast cancer progression by regulating microRNAs (miR-29c and miR-17-5p) and their target genes. This natural compound shows potential as a chemopreventive or chemotherapeutic agent.

Area of Science:

  • Marine natural products
  • Cancer biology
  • Molecular oncology

Background:

  • Breast cancer remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide.
  • Identifying novel therapeutic agents is crucial for improving patient outcomes.
  • Fucoidan, a sulfated polysaccharide from brown seaweed, exhibits various biological activities, including anticancer properties.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the molecular mechanisms by which fucoidan inhibits human breast cancer progression.
  • To elucidate the role of specific microRNAs (miRNAs) and their target genes in fucoidan's anticancer effects.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of miRNA expression (miR-29c and miR-17-5p) in breast cancer cells treated with fucoidan.
  • Luciferase reporter assays to validate miRNA targeting of ADAM12 and PTEN.
  • Assessment of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers (E-cadherin, N-cadherin).
  • Evaluation of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt signaling pathway activation.

Main Results:

  • Fucoidan upregulated miR-29c and downregulated miR-17-5p in breast cancer cells.
  • These miRNA changes led to the suppression of their target genes, ADAM12 and PTEN.
  • Fucoidan treatment inhibited EMT, increased E-cadherin, and decreased N-cadherin.
  • Fucoidan activated the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt pathway, inhibiting cell survival.

Conclusions:

  • Fucoidan inhibits breast cancer progression by modulating the miR-29c/ADAM12 and miR-17-5p/PTEN axes.
  • Fucoidan effectively suppresses EMT and promotes breast cancer cell death.
  • Fucoidan represents a promising natural compound for breast cancer chemoprevention and chemotherapy.
Keywords:
ADAM12FucoidanPTENbreast cancer cells.miR-17-5pmiR-29c

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