Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus crispatus culture supernatants downregulate expression of cancer-testis genes in the MDA-MB-231 cell line

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2014;15(10):4255-9. doi: 10.7314/apjcp.2014.15.10.4255.

Abstract

Lactobacilli are probiotics shown to have antitumor activities. In addition, they can regulate gene expression through epigenetic mechanisms. In this study, we aimed to assess anti tumor activities of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus crispatus on the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line. The effects of culture supernatants were determined by MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-y-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay. Changes in expression of 5 cancer-testis antigens (CTAs), namely AKAP4, ODF4, PIWIL2, RHOXF2 and TSGA10 ,were analyzed by quantitative real time RT-PCR. The culture supernatants of the 2 lactobacilli inhibited MDA-MB-231 cell proliferation. In addition, transcriptional activity of all mentioned CTAs except AKAP4 was significantly decreased after 24 hour treatment with culture supernatants. This study shows that Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus crispatus have antiproliferative activity against MDA-MB-231 cells. In addition, these lactobacilli could decrease transcriptional activity of 4 CTAs. Previous studies have shown that expression of CTAs is epigenetically regulated, so it is possible that lactobacilli cause this expression downregulation through epigenetic mechanisms. As expression of CTAs in cancers is usually associated with higher grades and poor prognosis, downregulation of their expression by lactobacilli may have clinical implications.

MeSH terms

  • A Kinase Anchor Proteins / biosynthesis
  • Argonaute Proteins / biosynthesis
  • Breast Neoplasms / genetics
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Culture Media, Conditioned / pharmacology
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins
  • DNA Methylation / genetics
  • Down-Regulation
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Homeodomain Proteins / biosynthesis
  • Humans
  • Lactobacillus acidophilus / metabolism*
  • Neoplasm Proteins / biosynthesis*
  • Probiotics / pharmacology*
  • Proteins / metabolism
  • Seminal Plasma Proteins / biosynthesis
  • Transcription, Genetic / drug effects

Substances

  • A Kinase Anchor Proteins
  • AKAP4 protein, human
  • Argonaute Proteins
  • Culture Media, Conditioned
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins
  • Homeodomain Proteins
  • Neoplasm Proteins
  • ODF4 protein, human
  • PIWIL2 protein, human
  • Proteins
  • RHOXF2 protein, human
  • Seminal Plasma Proteins
  • TSGA10 protein, human