Atovaquone Suppresses the Growth of Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Tumors in Lungs and Brain by Inhibiting Integrin/FAK Signaling Axis.

ABSTRACT: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is considered to be the most aggressive and malignant neoplasm and is highly metastatic in nature. In the current study, we investigated the anti-metastatic potential of atovaquone, a protozoal drug prescribed for Pneumocystis pneumonia. We showed that atovaquone induced apoptosis and reduced the survival of several aggressive metastatic TNBC cell lines including metastatic patient-derived cells by reducing the expression of integrin α6, integrin β4, FAK, Src, and Vimentin. In order to study the efficacy of atovaquone in suppressing metastasized breast tumor cells in brain and lungs, we performed three in vivo experiments. We demonstrated that oral administration of 50 mg/kg of atovaquone suppressed MDA-MB-231 breast tumor growth by 90% in lungs in an i

SUBMITTER: Gupta N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8229709 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature