Effect of cajanin stilbene acid and its synthetic derivatives on MCF-7 breast cancer cells

Cajanin stilbene acid (CSA) was previously shown to induce cytotoxicity against cancer cells. We have employed microarray gene expression profiling to identify deregulated genes in MCF-7 breast cancer cells upon treatment with CSA and its synthetic derivatives (CSA6, CSA9, CSA19). TGM2 gene encoding transglutaminase 2 was commonly deregulated after treatment with all four CSA compounds. All compounds revealed strong effects on cell cycle progression and DNA damage response. Promoter motif analysis of the deregulated genes further supported the microarray results emphasizing the relevance of transcription factors regulating cell cycle and proliferation, MYC being among the most pronounced ones. Interestingly, cellular movement was among the top five affected cellular functions after treatment with the four derivatives. Gene expression profiling study with Whole Human Genome RNA chips (8×60K Agilent) was performed in MCF-7 breast cancer cells upon treatment with CSA and its synthetic derivatives (CSA6, CSA9, CSA19). Twelve chips were used; control (x2), CSA (x2), control (x2), CSA6 (x2), CSA9 (x2), CSA19 (x2). MCF-7 cells were treated with the compounds (IC50 concentrations) for 72 hours or left untreated (DMSO control). Two independent experiments were performed for each treatment.