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The evaluation of melatonin and EGF interaction on breast cancer metastasis

  • Moloud Akbarzadeh , Vahid Vahedian , Zahraa Hamid Abudulmohesen , Parvin Ghadimi , Nazila Fathi Maroufi EMAIL logo , Ali Farzaneh , Sepideh Bastani , Neda Roshanravan , Abbas Pirpour Tazehkand , Amir Fattahi , Yousef Faridvand , Mehdi Talebi , Davoud Farajzadeh EMAIL logo and Maryam Akbarzadeh EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: July 23, 2024
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Hormone Molecular Biology and Clinical Investigation
From the journal Hormone Molecular Biology and Clinical Investigation Volume 45 Issue 3

Abstract

Objectives

Metastasis in breast cancer is the first cause of death in patients. The epidermal growth factor (EGF) increases cancer cells’ invasion, and migration. Melatonin’s inhibitory effects on various types of cancer were confirmed. This study aimed to investigate whether melatonin could apply its impact through the EGF-related pathways or not.

Methods

First, MDA-MB-231 and MCF7 cells were cultured, and then melatonin effects on cell viability were determined by MTT assay. Transwell invasion assay was applied to identify the invasiveness of these breast cancer cell lines under treatment of EGF and melatonin. Real-time RT-PCR then investigated the expression of MMP9 and MMP2 in determined groups. Cell proliferation was also assayed under EGF and melatonin treatment using Ki67 assessment by flow cytometry.

Results

The rate of invasion and migration of EGF-treated cells increased in both groups, in which melatonin caused increased invasion by EGF just in MCF7 cells. MMP9 and MMP2 expression increased significantly in both cell lines under EGF treatment, and melatonin increased these genes’ expression in both cell lines (p<0.05). EGF increased the MMP9 and MMP2 gene expression, and melatonin increased EGF-induced expression (p<0.05). The EGF reduced the expression of the Ki67 protein in the MCF7 cell line, which was negatively affected by melatonin and EGF. In contrast, along with melatonin, EGF did not affect the proliferation of the MDA-MB-231 cell line.

Conclusions

The results of this study show that melatonin in the presence of EGF does not show the anti-cancer properties previously described for this substance.

Keywords: EGF; melatonin; breast cancer; metastasis
Corresponding authors: Nazila Fathi Maroufi, Department of Biochemistry and Clinical Laboratories, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran, E-mail: ; and Davoud Farajzadeh, Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biological Science, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, Iran, E-mail: ; and Maryam Akbarzadeh, Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran, E-mail:

Acknowledgments

This work supported by Department of Biochemistry, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

  1. Research ethics: The local Institutional Review Board deemed the study exempt from review.

  2. Informed consent: Not applicable.

  3. Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.

  4. Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.

  5. Research funding: None.

  6. Data availability: Not applicable.

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Received: 2023-12-01
Accepted: 2024-07-12
Published Online: 2024-07-23

© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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https://doi.org/10.1515/hmbci-2023-0082
Keywords for this article
EGF; melatonin; breast cancer; metastasis

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Review Articles
  3. Navigating the challenges: exploring the association between COVID-19 lockdowns and eating behavior in university students: a systematic review and investigation of factors impacting ed levels
  4. The undervalued league of insulin resistance testing: uncovering their importance
  5. Original Articles
  6. The spectrum of clinical, hormonal findings in children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia in Isfahan province; a 20-year review
  7. Association of angiotensin converting enzyme gene insertion/deletion polymorphism with diabetic retinopathy in middle-aged Indians with type 2 diabetes mellitus
  8. The evaluation of melatonin and EGF interaction on breast cancer metastasis
  9. Potential therapeutic properties of broccoli extract and soy isoflavones on improvement endometriosis and involved oxidative parameters
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