Yanhong Gao
Chinese PLA General Hospital, China
Title: Sensitivity of Palb2-null tumor cells to an oxidative stress inducing agent
Biography
Biography: Yanhong Gao
Abstract
PALB2 gene mutations, as the newly discovered breast cancer associated gene, has brought new direction for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer. To better understand the function for PALB2 and whether it can be use for drug, we generated p53-single-null (as control) and Palb2; p53-double-null cell lines from the mouse mammary tumors obtained and we found the Palb2-null tumor cells were hypersensitive to DNA damaging agents in previous study. To explore new ways to selectively kill Palb2-null tumor cells, we tested the potential of targeting oxidative stress in the cells. For this purpose, we chose phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) and L-sulforaphane. We tested the sensitivity of 5 different Palb2-null tumor cell lines and 3 different control lines to the drugs. Cells were seeded in 96 well plates and treated with different concentrations of the two drugs for 72 hr. Then, cell viability was measured by CellTiterGlo® assay. Comparing with L-sulforaphane, we found Palb2-null tumor cells were hypersensitive to PEITC. PEITC,a natural compound that is rich in vegetables such as watercress and broccoli, etc. PEITC has long been known to possess anti-cancer activity, has been extensively studied. According the result, it is raising an tempting prospect of preventing or treating PALB2-associated cancers with the inexpensive drug.