Sauchinone inhibits breast cancer cell proliferation through regulating microRNA-148a-3p/HER-2 axis.

Background: Sauchinone is extracted from the root of Saururus chinensis and exhibits potent antitumor effects in various human cancers. However, how sauchinone is involved in breast cancer has not been well studied.

Methods: Cells apoptosis, cell proliferation, and cycle distribution were evaluated. Xenograft tumor mouse model was constructed to investigate the roles of sauchinone. The relevant protein expression was detected by western blot.

Results: We found that sauchinone significantly reduced proliferation and survival, also induced apoptosis of MCF-7 and Bcap-37 cells in vitro. Sauchinone significantly increased miR-148a-3p expression, and human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER)-2 targeted on miR-148a-3p. Sauchinone exposure downregulated HER-2 expression whose overexpression partly eliminated the inhibitory effect of sauchinone. Further, sauchinone efficiently inhibited breast cancer progression through downregulating HER-2 expression in vivo.

Conclusion: Our results indicate that sauchinone efficiently inhibits breast cancer progression through regulating miR-148a-3p/HER-2 axis, suggesting that sauchinone could be an effective anticancer agent for breast cancer.