the effect of piperine on mmp-9, vegf, and e-cadherin expression in breast cancer mcf-7 cell line

Background: vascular endothelial growth factor (vegf), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (mmp-9), and e-cadherin play a vital role in the behavior of angiogenesis, metastasis, and invasion of breast tumor cells. piperine, the main component of piper nigrum, has shown anti-cancer properties in various malignancies. this study investigates the potential effect of piperine on mmp-9, e-cadherin, and vegf expression in breast cancer mcf-7 cell line. methods: mtt assay was applied to assess the viability of mcf-7 cells. the mrna levels of mmp-9, vegf, and e-cadherin were assayed by qrt-pcr. western blot was performed to identify the protein level of mmp-9. results: mtt assay results showed that piperine treatment (5, 10, 25, 50, 75, and 100 μm) for 24 hours effectively inhibited cell viability of mcf-7 cells as compared with the control group. furthermore, the gene expression of vegf, mmp-9, and e-cadherin was dose-dependently suppressed by piperine treatment (5, 10 and 25 μm) (p<0.05; p<0.01). the results also indicated that piperine (5, 10, and 25 μm) significantly suppressed mmp-9 protein expression after 24 hours of piperine treatment (p<0.01). conclusion: these results suggest that piperine may prevent angiogenesis, migration, and invasion of mcf-7 cells by suppressing mmp-9 and vegf, and by inducing e-cadherin expression. hence, it may be a suitable candidate for designing new drugs in cancer therapy.