Effect of Curcumin on Cell- ECM Interaction in Human Breast Cancer Cells MDA-MB-231

Breast cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers and the leading cause of cancer deaths in females worldwide. Several matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) were reported to show stronger expression in breast cancer tissue compared to normal breast tissue. Some breast cancer cell lines also constitutively express a wide variety of MMPs. Thus targeting those MMPs can be a possible route to combat breast cancer. In different cancer cells curcumin was reported to exert both anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effect. In the present study, human breast cancer cells, MDA-MB-231 was exposed to curcumin and change in expression, localization and activity of different procancerous factors were studied using zymography, RT-PCR, Western blot, immunocytochemistry. It was found that, curcumin affects several cell signalling molecules l ike FAK, ILK, PI3K, Akt, NF-kappa B, and reduces MMP-9 level, VEGF level, cell migration and increases E-cadherin level. Since most of the molecules mentioned are part of the FAK mediated signalling, curcumin might exhibit here appreciable effects on tumor cell- ECM interaction with potential antagonist role on cell metastatic properties involving increase in E-cadherin and decrease in VEGF level