Abstract
Piperine is a bioactive component of black pepper, Piper nigrum Linn, commonly used for daily consumption and in traditional medicine. Here, the molecular mechanisms by which piperine exerts antitumor effects in HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells was investigated. The results showed that piperine strongly inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis through caspase-3 activation and PARP cleavage. Furthermore, piperine inhibited HER2 gene expression at the transcriptional level. Blockade of ERK1/2 signaling by piperine significantly reduced SREBP-1 and FAS expression. Piperine strongly suppressed EGF-induced MMP-9 expression through inhibition of AP-1 and NF-κB activation by interfering with ERK1/2, p38 MAPK, and Akt signaling pathways resulting in a reduction in migration. Finally, piperine pretreatment enhanced sensitization to paclitaxel killing in HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells. Our findings suggest that piperine may be a potential agent for the prevention and treatment of human breast cancer with HER2 overexpression.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 2591-2599 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Food Chemistry |
Volume | 141 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2013 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Apoptosis
- FAS
- HER2
- MMP-9
- Migration
- Piperine
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Analytical Chemistry
- Food Science