Pectinose induces cell cycle arrest in luminal A and triple-negative breast cancer cells by promoting autophagy through activation of the p38 MAPK signaling pathway.

Breast cancer patients often have a poor prognosis largely due to lack of effective targeted therapy. It is now well established that monosaccharide enhances growth retardation and chemotherapy sensitivity in tumor cells. However, Pectinose whether has capability to restrict the proliferation of tumor cells remain unclear. Here, we report that Pectinose induced cytotoxicity is modulated by autophagy and p38 MAPK signaling pathway in breast cancer cell lines. The proliferation of cells was dramatically inhibited by Pectinose exposure in a dose-dependent manner, which was relevant to cell cycle arrest, as demonstrated by G2/M cell cycle restriction and ectopic expression of Cyclin A, Cyclin B, p21and p27. Mechanistically, we further identified that Pectinose is positively associated with autophagy and the activation of the p38 MAPK signaling in breast cancer. In contrast, 3-Ma or SB203580, the inhibitor of autophagy or p38 MAPK, reversed the efficacy of Pectinose suppressing on breast cancer cell lines proliferation and cell cycle process. Additionally, Pectinose in vivo treatment could significantly inhibit xenograft growth of breast cancer cells. Taken together, our findings were the first to reveal that Pectinose triggered cell cycle arrest by inducing autophagy through the activation of p38 MAPK signaling pathway in breast cancer cells,especially in luminal A and triple-negative breast cancer.