Simvastatin inhibits expression of pluripotent markers Oct3/4, Nanog, and Sox-2 in human breast cancer MCF-7 Cells / 中国肿瘤临床

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the effect of simvastatin on expression of pluripotent markers Oct3/4, Nanog, and Sox-2 in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells. Methods:Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), immunofluo-rescent staining, flow cytometry, and Western blot were used to detect the expression of pluripotency markers Oct3/4, Nanog, and Sox-2 in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells treated with different doses of simvastatin. Results:qRT-PCR revealed the more signifi-cant inhibition of gene expressions of Oct3/4, Nanog, and Sox-2 in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells when subjected to high doses of simvastatin (10, 50, and 100 μmol/L) compared with the control group (P0.05). The inhibitory effect of simvastatin on the gene expressions of Oct3/4 and Nanog was more significantly apparent at 50 and 100 μmol/L dosages than at 10 μmol/L (P0.05). Between the two higher-dose treatments (50 and 100 μmol/L), no significant difference in the inhibitory expressions of Oct3/4, Nanog, and Sox-2 in MCF-7 cells was found. Meanwhile, in the 10 μmol/L simvastatin treatment, immunoflurescent staining showed a marked reduction in the protein expression of all three pluripotent markers in MCF-7 cells, and flow cytometry demonstrated a decrease of Oct3/4-, Nanog-, and Sox-2-positive cells (P<0.05). Western blot further revealed that the protein expression of Oct3/4, Nanog, and Sox-2 in MCF-7 cells was significantly declined by the same simvastatin dose (P<0.05). Conclusion: Simvastatin can inhibit the expression of pluripotent markers Oct3/4, Nanog, and Sox-2 in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells, proving the anti-cancer properties of simvastatin.