Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 25, 2026

Studying Triple Negative Breast Cancer Using Orthotopic Breast Cancer Model
Published on: March 20, 2020
Divergent effects of vitamins K1 and K2 on triple negative breast cancer cells
Sarah Beaudin1, Leila Kokabee1, JoEllen Welsh1
1Cancer Research Center and Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University at Albany, Rensselaer, NY 12144, USA.
Abstract:
Vitamin K serves as an essential co-factor in the γ-carboxylation of glutamate to γ-carboxyglutamate (GLA), a post-translational modification mediated by gamma-glutamyl carboxylase (GGCX) and vitamin K oxidoreductases (VKORC1 or VKORC1L1). While both phylloquinone (K1) and menaquinone (K2) support the synthesis of GLA-modified proteins, studies assessing K1 and/or K2 effects in cancer cells have reported minimal effects of K1 and anti-proliferative or pro-apoptotic effects of K2. qPCR results indicated highest expression of GGCX, VKORC1, and VKORC1L1 in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines, Hs578T, MDA-MB-231 and SUM159PT, and in advanced stage disease. To assess differential effects of vitamin K, TNBC cells were cultured in media supplemented with K1 or K2. K1 treatment increased cell growth, and enhanced stemness and GLA-modified protein expression in TNBC lysates. Alternatively, lysates from cells exposed to vehicle, K2, or the VKOR antagonist, warfarin, did not express GLA-modified proteins. Further, K2 exposure reduced stemness and elicited anti-proliferative effects. These studies show that TNBC cells express a functional vitamin K pathway and that K1 and K2 exert distinct phenotypic effects. Clarification of the mechanisms by which K1 and K2 induce these effects may lead to relevant therapeutic strategies for manipulating this pathway in TNBC patients.
Related Concept Videos
Divergence and Curl
Vitamins
Divergence and Stokes' Theorems
Gene Duplication and Divergence
The duplicated copies of the gene are called Paralogs. Paralogs with similar sequences and functions form a gene family. Across several species, a large number of gene families are...
Divergence and Curl of Electric Field
Divergence and Curl of Magnetic Field

