Sulforaphane controls TPA-induced MMP-9 expression through the NF-κB signaling pathway, but not AP-1, in MCF-7 breast cancer cells

Sulforaphane [1-isothiocyanato-4-(methylsulfinyl)-butane] is anisothiocyanate found in some cruciferous vegetables, especiallybroccoli. Sulforaphane has been shown to displayanti-cancer properties against various cancer cell lines. Matrixmetalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), which degrades the extracellularmatrix (ECM), plays an important role in cancer cell invasion.In this study, we investigated the effect of sulforaphane on12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced MMP-9expression and cell invasion in MCF-7 cells. TPA-inducedMMP-9 expression and cell invasion were decreased bysulforaphane treatment. TPA substantially increased NF-κB andAP-1 DNA binding activity. Pre-treatment with sulforaphaneinhibited TPA-stimulated NF-κB binding activity, but not AP-1binding activity. In addition, we found that sulforaphanesuppressed NF-κB activation, by inhibiting phosphorylation ofIκB in TPA-treated MCF-7 cells. In this study, we demonstratedthat the inhibition of TPA-induced MMP-9 expression and cellinvasion by sulforaphane was mediated by the suppression ofthe NF-κB pathway in MCF-7 cells. [BMB Reports 2013; 46(4):201-206]