Effect of curcumin on MMP-9 activity of 4T1 murine triple-negative breast cancer cells

Abstract

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for 10–20% of all cases of breast carcinoma. People who have TNBC are also more likely to develop metastasis. Metastasis refers to secondary cancer forming in a different part of the body. Metastases are often more dangerous than the primary tumor, and they are responsible for 90% of all cancer deaths. The purpose of this study is to explore the anti-metastatic activity of curcumin on 4T1 triple-negative breast cancer cells by evaluating its effect on the expression and activity of MMP-9. Gelatin zymography assay was carried out to determine inhibition of MMP-9 activity, while MMP-9 mRNA expression was analyzed using RT-PCR. The evaluation of anti-metastasis activity using the gelatin zymography demonstrated that curcumin significantly inhibited the activity of MMP-9 on 4T1 cells compared to the control. The MMP-9 mRNA expression was not reduced upon curcumin treatment. This result indicates that inhibition of metastasis in 4T1 is not due to inhibition of mRNA expression. So, further studies are needed to see the mechanism of curcumin to inhibits metastasis.