Journal of Advanced Biomedical Sciences

Background & Objectives: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women. Incorrect pattern of gene expression involved in epigenetic including APOBEC3B, DNMT-1, and TET-1 can develop breast cancer. Quercetin is a natural flavonoid with antioxidant and anti-cancer properties that have been reported in other studies. To investigate the effect mechanism of quercetin, this study examined the effect of quercetin on the expression of genes which were referred to in two classes of breast cancer cell lines.

Materials & Methods: Cell lines including MCF-7 and MDA-MB-453 in separate boxes in the control group and the treated groups with two dosages of 50 and 100 mm of quercetin were cultured for 24 and 48 hours, respectively. RNA was extracted from the cells and then was converted to cDNA. Real-time PCR was used for APOBEC3B, DNMT_1, and TET-1 expression.

Results: The results showed that quercetin had conflicting results after 24 hours in two cell lines as there was a decrease in the gene expression of APQBEC3B and an increase in that of DNMT-1 in MCF-7 cell line. In contrast, the cell line of MDA-MB-453, APOBEC3B, and DNMT-1 gene expression increased. While the 48-hour results showed that quercetin reduced the gene expression of APOBEC3B and DNMT-1 and increased that of the TET-1 in both cell lines.

Conclusion: Due to the satisfactory effects of quercetin on breast cancer cells after 48 hours, these effects can be probably applied through epigenetic mechanisms. However, the final decision needs further investigation.