α-Lipoic acid prevents the ionizing radiation-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition and enhances the radiosensitivity in breast cancer cells.

Radiotherapy is routinely used in the treatment of breast cancer. However, its efficiency is often limited by the development of radioresistance and metastasis. The cancer cells surviving irradiation show epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) along with increased migration, invasion and metastasis. In this study, we have evaluated the role of α-lipoic acid in preventing the radiation-induced EMT and in sensitizing the breast cancer cells to radiation. The breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 were pretreated with lipoic acid, irradiated and the changes associated with cell growth, clonogenicity, migration, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), EMT and TGFß signaling were measured. Our data showed that lipoic acid pretreatment sensitized the breast cancer cells to the ionizing radiation and inhibited the radiation-induced migration and the release of MMP2 and MMP9. Lipoic acid also prevented the TGFß1 release and inhibited the radiation-induced EMT in breast cancer cells. The inhibition of TGFß signaling by lipoic acid is associated with the inhibition of radiation-induced activation and translocation of NF-κB. These results suggest that α-lipoic acid inhibits the radiation-induced TGFß signaling and nuclear translocation of NF-κB, thereby inhibiting the radiation-induced EMT and sensitizing the breast cancer cells to ionizing radiation.

α-Lipoic acid inhibits the migration and invasion of breast cancer cells through inhibition of TGFß signaling.

AIMS: Invasion and metastasis are the main cause of mortality in breast cancer. Hence, novel therapeutic interventions with high specificity toward invasion and metastasis are necessary. α-Lipoic acid showed antiproliferative and cytotoxic effects on several cancers including breast cancer. However, the effect of lipoic acid on breast cancer metastasis remains unclear. MAIN METHODS: In the present study, we examined the effects of lipoic acid on the migration and invasion of MDA-MB-231 and 4T1 breast cancer cells. KEY FINDINGS: Our data showed that lipoic acid effectively inhibited the colony forming ability of highly invasive MDA-MB-231 and 4T1 cells. Moreover, the nontoxic concentrations of lipoic acid significantly reduced the migration of breast cancer cells. Lipoic acid also inhibited the TGFß-induced angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4) expression and reduced the activity of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), an enzyme involved in invasion and metastasis, in both the cell lines. The inhibition of cell migration by lipoic acid is accompanied by the downregulation of FAK, ERK1/2 and AKT phosphorylation, and inhibition of nuclear translocation of ß-catenin. SIGNIFICANCE: Our data demonstrated that lipoic acid inhibited the migration and invasion of metastatic breast cancer cells at least in part through inhibiting ERK1/2 and AKT signaling. Thus, our findings show that the inhibition of TGFß signaling is a potential mechanism for the anti-invasive effects of lipoic acid.