Inhibitory effect of (-)-epigallocatechin and (-)-epigallocatechin gallate against heregulin //1-induced migration/invasion of the mcf-7 breast carcinoma cell line

Abstract

Migration/invasion is involved in the multiple steps of metastasis, resulting in a poor prognosis of breast cancer. (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) in green tea inhibits the metastasis of some cancer cell lines. Cell migration/invasion assays using Boyden chambers demonstrated that (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), another green tea catechin, inhibited heregulin-/l (HRG)-induced migration/invasion of MCF-7 human breast carcinoma cells to approximately the same extent as EGCG. Assays of cytoskeletal reorganization, Western blotting and im- munoprecipitation suggested that EGCG inhibited this migration/invasion by suppressing the HRG-stimulated activation of epidermal growth factor receptor-related protein B2 (ErbB2)/ErbB3/protein kinase B (Akt), whereas EGC did so through pathways including the disruption of the HRG-stimulated activation of ErbB2/ErbB3 but not Akt. EGC, as well as EGCG, could play an important role against the promotion of metastasis of breast cancer cells. © 2009 Pharmaceutical Society of Japan.