Proteomic analysis of the effect of retinoic acids on the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women in many areas and is increasing found in developing countries, where the majority of cases are diagnosed in late stages. Retinoic acids, through their associated nuclear receptors, exert intoxicating effects on cell growth, differentiation and apoptosis, and hold significant promise in relation to cancer therapy and chemoprevention. To enhance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms associated with retinoic acids in the breast cancer cell line MCF-7 in a time-dependent manner, we conducted a proteomic analysis of MCF-7 cells using the 2-DE couple with high-throughput mass spectrometry and bioinformatics tools. In the 2-DE patterns of MCF-7 cells treated with retinoic acid in a time-dependent manner, 35 protein spots were found to be differentially expressed. These were 17 increased, 4 decreased, and 14 unevenly expressed protein spots, all of which were analyzed using LTQ-FTICR mass spectrometry. Furthermore, five candidate proteins, up-regulated, were validated by western blotting. These were nucleoredoxin, latexin, aminomethyltransferase, translationally controlled one tumor protein, and rab GDP dissociation inhibitor β. These observations represent novel findings leading to new insight into the exact mechanism behind the effect of retinoic acids in MCF-7 cells while also identifying possible therapeutic targets for breast cancer diagnosis and novel drug development paths for the treatment of this disease.