MDPI, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 15(21), p. 5244, 2020
DOI: 10.3390/ijms21155244
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Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in women worldwide. Conventional cancer treatment is costly and results in many side effects. Dietary bioactive compounds may be a potential source for breast cancer prevention and treatment. In this scenario, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the bioactive compounds resveratrol, curcumin and piperine (R-C-P) on MCF-7 breast cancer cells and to associate them to Glyoxalase 1 (GLO1) activity. The findings indicate that R-C-P exhibits cytotoxicity towards MCF-7 cells. R-C-P decreased mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) by 1.93-, 2.04- and 1.17-fold, respectively. Glutathione and N-acetylcysteine were able to reverse the cytotoxicity of the assessed bioactive compounds in MCF-7 cells. R-C-P reduced GLO1 activity by 1.36-, 1.92- and 1.31-fold, respectively. R-C-P in the presence of antimycin A led to 1.98-, 1.65- and 2.16-fold decreases in D-lactate levels after 2 h of treatment, respectively. Glyoxal and methylglyoxal presented cytotoxic effects on MCF-7 cells, with IC50 values of 2.8 and 2.7 mM and of 1.5 and 1.4 mM after 24 and 48 h of treatment, respectively. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that R-C-P results in cytotoxic effects in MCF-7 cells and that this outcome is associated with decreasing GLO1 activity and mitochondrial dysfunction.