Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide and shows maximum invasiveness and a high risk of metastasis. Recently, many natural compounds have been highlighted as a valuable source of new and less toxic drugs to enhance breast cancer therapy. Among them, S-adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet) has emerged as a promising anti-cancer agent. MicroRNA (miRNA or miR)-based gene therapy provides an interesting antitumor approach to integrated cancer therapy. In this study, we evaluated AdoMet-induced modulation of miRNA-34c and miRNA-449a expression in MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 TNBC cells. We demonstrated that AdoMet upregulates miR-34c and miR-449a expression in both cell lines. We found that the combination of AdoMet with miR-34c or miR-449a mimic strongly potentiated the pro-apoptotic effect of the sulfonium compound by a caspase-dependent mechanism. For the first time, by video time-lapse microscopy, we showed that AdoMet inhibited the in vitro migration of MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 cells and that the combination with miR-34c or miR-449a mimic strengthened the effect of the sulfonium compound through the modulation of β-catenin and Small Mother Against Decapentaplegic (SMAD) signaling pathways. Our results furnished the first evidence that AdoMet exerts its antitumor effects in TNBC cells through upregulating the expression of miR-34c and miR-449a.
Keywords: S-Adenosylmethionine; cancer therapy; cell growth and migration; miRNA-34c; miRNA-449a; microRNA; triple negative breast cancer.