Effects of Garlic on Breast Tumor Cells with a Triple Negative Phenotype: Peculiar Subtype-Dependent Down-Modulation of Akt Signaling

Cells. 2024 May 11;13(10):822. doi: 10.3390/cells13100822.

Abstract

Breast cancer includes tumor subgroups with morphological, molecular, and clinical differences. Intrinsic heterogeneity especially characterizes breast tumors with a triple negative phenotype, often leading to the failure of even the most advanced therapeutic strategies. To improve breast cancer treatment, the use of natural agents to integrate conventional therapies is the subject of ever-increasing attention. In this context, garlic (Allium sativum) shows anti-cancerous potential, interfering with the proliferation, motility, and malignant progression of both non-invasive and invasive breast tumor cells. As heterogeneity could be at the basis of variable effects, the main objective of our study was to evaluate the anti-tumoral activity of a garlic extract in breast cancer cells with a triple negative phenotype. Established triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines from patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) were used, revealing subtype-dependent effects on morphology, cell cycle, and invasive potential, correlated with the peculiar down-modulation of Akt signaling, a crucial regulator in solid tumors. Our results first demonstrate that the effects of garlic on TNBC breast cancer are not unique and suggest that only more precise knowledge of the mechanisms activated by this natural compound in each tumor will allow for the inclusion of garlic in personalized therapeutic approaches to breast cancer.

Keywords: Akt; PDX-derived cells.; TNBC subtypes; breast cancer; garlic extract.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Breast Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Breast Neoplasms* / metabolism
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Movement / drug effects
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Down-Regulation / drug effects
  • Female
  • Garlic* / chemistry
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Phenotype
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt* / drug effects
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt* / metabolism
  • Signal Transduction* / drug effects
  • Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms* / metabolism
  • Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Substances

  • Plant Extracts
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt