Pentagamavunone-1 inhibits aggressive breast cancer cell proliferation through mitotic catastrophe and ROS-mediated activities: in vitro and in vivo studies

Dhania Novitasari; Ikuko Nakamae; Riris Istighfari Jenie; Noriko Yoneda-Kato; Jun-Ya Kato; Edy Meiyanto

doi:10.1016/j.jsps.2023.101892

Pentagamavunone-1 inhibits aggressive breast cancer cell proliferation through mitotic catastrophe and ROS-mediated activities: in vitro and in vivo studies

Saudi Pharm J. 2024 Jan;32(1):101892. doi: 10.1016/j.jsps.2023.101892. Epub 2023 Dec 2.

Authors

Dhania Novitasari¹, Ikuko Nakamae², Riris Istighfari Jenie^{1

3}, Noriko Yoneda-Kato², Jun-Ya Kato², Edy Meiyanto^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Cancer Chemoprevention Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia.
² Laboratory of Tumor Cell Biology, Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara 630-0192, Japan.
³ Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia.

Abstract

Pentagamavunone-1 (PGV-1), an analog of curcumin, has been studied for its cytotoxic effects in 4T1, MCF7, MCF7/HER2, and T47D breast cancer cells. Its antiproliferative effect is partly mediated through G2/M arrest; however, its molecular mechanism during cell cycle progression remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to determine whether PGV-1 has any anticancer effects on highly aggressive breast cancer cells, with a focus on cell cycle regulatory activity, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and their mediated effects on cancer cells. MDA-MB-231 (triple-negative) and HCC1954 (overexpressed HER2) immortalized human breast cancer cells were used in the study. PGV-1 exhibited cytotoxic activity with an irreversible antiproliferative impact on treated cells and had good selectivity when tested in fibroblast cells. Oral PGV-1 administration suppressed tumor growth in a cell-derived xenograft mouse model. PGV-1 induced the phosphorylation of Aurora A kinase and PLK1 in MDA-MB-231 cells, while PLK1 and cyclin B1 phosphorylation were enhanced in the PGV-1-treated HCC1954 cells during prometaphase arrest. Intracellular ROS production was substantially higher upon PGV-1 treatment following mitotic arrest, and this activity caused impairment of mitochondrial respiration, induced senescence, and subsequently triggered early-to-late apoptosis. Collectively, these results suggest that the molecular mechanism of PGV-1 involves the regulation of mitotic kinases to cause cell cycle arrest and the enhancement of ROS production to impair mitochondrial activity and induce cellular senescence. The therapeutic activities demonstrated by PGV-1 in this study show its potential as an appealing candidate for chemotherapy in breast cancer treatment.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Curcumin analog; Mitotic arrest; ROS generation.