Effects of Wild Yam Root (Dioscorea villosa) Extract on the Gene Expression Profile of Triple-negative Breast Cancer Cells

Abstract

Background/aim: Wild yam extract [Dioscorea villosa, (WYE)] is consistently lethal at low IC₅₀s across diverse cancer-lines in vitro. Unlike traditional anti-cancer botanicals, WYE contains detergent saponins which reduce oil-water interfacial tensions causing disintegration of lipid membranes and causing cell lysis, creating an interfering variable. Here, we evaluate WYE at sub-lethal concentrations in MDA-MB-231 triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells.

Materials and methods: Quantification of saponins, membrane potential, lytic death and sub-lethal WYE changes in whole transcriptomic (WT) mRNA, miRNAs and biological parameters were evaluated.

Results: WYE caused 346 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) out of 48,226 transcripts tested; where up-regulated DEGS reflect immune stimulation, TNF signaling, COX2, cytokine release and cholesterol/steroid biosynthesis. Down-regulated DEGs reflect losses in cell division cycle (CDC), cyclins (CCN), cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), centromere proteins (CENP), kinesin family members (KIFs) and polo-like kinases (PLKs), which were in alignment with biological studies.

Conclusion: Sub-lethal concentrations of WYE appear to evoke pro-inflammatory, steroid biosynthetic and cytostatic effects in TNBC cells.

Keywords: Dioscorea; Immune stimulation; breast cancer; cell cycle; wild yam.