Coumestrol is a
phytoestrogen present in soybean products and recognized as potential
cancer therapeutic agent against
breast cancer. However, the clear molecular mechanism of anticancer-activity of
coumestrol in
breast carcinoma has not been reported. It is well established that
copper levels are elevated in different
malignancies. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the
copper-dependent cytotoxic action of
coumestrol in human
breast cancer MCF-7 cells. Results showed that
coumestrol inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells, which was prevented by
copper chelator neocuproine and ROS scavengers.
Coumestrol treatment induced ROS generation coupled to DNA fragmentation, up-regulation of p53/p21, cell cycle arrest at G1/S phase, mitochondrial membrane depolarization and
caspases 9/3 activation. All these effects were suppressed by ROS scavengers and
neocuproine. These results suggest that
coumestrol targets elevated
copper for redox cycling to generate ROS leading to DNA fragmentation. DNA damage leads to p53 up-regulation which directs the cell cycle arrest at G1/S phase and promotes caspase-dependent apoptosis of MCF-7 cells. In conclusion,
copper targeted ROS-mediated p53-dependent mechanism better explains the cytotoxic action of
coumestrol in MCF-7 cells. Thus, targeting elevated
copper levels might be a potential therapeutic strategy for selective cytotoxic action against malignant cells.