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Boric Acid Alters the Expression of DNA Double Break Repair Genes in MCF-7-Derived Breast Cancer Stem Cells

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Abstract

Breast cancer pathology ranks second in mortality among women worldwide due to the resistance of cancer stem cells in tumor tissue to radiotherapy and chemotherapy and their effective DNA damage response system (DDR). Targeting the expression of DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair genes in breast cancer stem cells (BC-SCs) is essential for facilitating their elimination with conventional therapies. This study aims to investigate the effects of boric acid (BA) on the expression of DNA DSB repair genes in BC-SCs, which has not been studied in the literature before. BS-SCs were isolated by the MACS method and characterized by flow cytometry. The effects of BA on BC-SCs’ DNA DSB repair genes were deciphered by cell viability assay, inverted microscopy, and RT-qPCR. While the expression of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 was upregulated, the expression of the ATM (p < 0.001), RAD51 (p < 0.001), and KU70 (p < 0.001) was downregulated in dose-treated BC-SCs (p < 0.001) to the qPCR results. Consequently, BA affects some of the DNA DSB repair genes of breast cancer stem cells. Findings from this study could provide new insights into the potential therapeutic application of BA in BC-SC elimination and cancer intervention.

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Data Availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in the published article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cellular Therapy and Stem Cell Production, Application, and Research Center (ESTEM), Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, 26040, Turkey

    Tuğba Semerci Sevimli, Aynaz Ghorbani, Fidan Gakhiyeva & Bahar Demir Cevizlidere

  2. Department of Stem Cell, Institute of Health Sciences, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, 26040, Turkey

    Tuğba Semerci Sevimli, Aynaz Ghorbani, Fidan Gakhiyeva & Bahar Demir Cevizlidere

  3. Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, 26040, Turkey

    Murat Sevimli

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  1. Tuğba Semerci Sevimli
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Contributions

TSS conceived and designed research. BDC, AG, FG, and TSS conducted experiments. TSS, BDC, and MS analysed data. TSS and MS wrote the manuscript. TSS, and MS contributed editing, supervision and project administration. All authors read and approved the manuscript. The authors declare that all data were generated in-house and that no paper mill was used.

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Correspondence to Tuğba Semerci Sevimli.

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Sevimli, T.S., Ghorbani, A., Gakhiyeva, F. et al. Boric Acid Alters the Expression of DNA Double Break Repair Genes in MCF-7-Derived Breast Cancer Stem Cells. Biol Trace Elem Res (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-023-03987-4

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