Role of mitochondrial peptide humanin in the response of experimental breast cancer to chemotherapy

MARIANELA CANDOLFI; ALEJANDO JAVIER NICOLA CANDIA; MARIA FLORENCIA GOTTARDO; VICTOR ROMANOWSKI; MATIAS PIDRE; CAMILA ZUCCATO; ADRIANA SEILICOVICH; ANTONELA ASAD; MARIELA MORENO AYALA

Congreso; Reunion Anual de la SAIC; 2017

Humanin (HN) is a mitochondrial-derived peptide with potent cytoprotective action in many cell types. Although HN can protect normal cells against toxic effects of chemotherapy, the role of this peptide in tumor pathogenesis is not well understood. We have previously observed that recombinant HN inhibits the response of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells to cytotoxic stimuli, facilitating tumor progression and chemoresistance in vivo. Here we aimed to evaluate whether chemotherapy modulates the expression of HN in cancer cell types that are characterized by their chemoresistance: TNBC and glioblastoma (GBM) cells. We evaluated the expression of HN in murine 4T1 TNBC cells and in human U251 GBM cells by flow cytometry following serum deprivation and chemotherapy with Doxorubicin (DOXO), Cisplatin (CP) or Temozolomide (TMZ). Expression of HN in 4T1 TNBC cells was upregulated by DOXO (500 nM) and CP (1 μM, p