Lactoferrin selectively triggers apoptosis in highly metastatic breast cancer cells through inhibition of plasmalemmal V-H+-ATPase.

ABSTRACT: Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer affecting women. Despite the good prognosis when detected early, significant challenges remain in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. The recruitment of the vacuolar H+-ATPase (V-H+-ATPase) to the plasma membrane, where it mediates the acidification of the tumor microenvironment (TME), is a recognized feature involved in the acquisition of a metastatic phenotype in breast cancer. Therefore, inhibitors of this pump have emerged as promising anticancer drugs. Lactoferrin (Lf) is a natural pro-apoptotic iron-binding glycoprotein with strong anticancer activity whose mechanism of action is not fully understood. Here, we show that bovine Lf (bLf) preferentially induces apoptosis in the highly metastatic breast cancer cell lines Hs 578T and

SUBMITTER: Pereira CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5308717 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature