To explore the regulation by cardamonin through targeting family 110 member A (FAM110A) regulate Janus kinase 2 (JAK2)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway on human breast cancer cells MCF-7 and effects of aerobic glycolysis and epithelial-mesenchymal transformation.

The breast cancer cells MCF-7 were divided into control group (cultured normally), experimental group (cells treated with 20 μmol·L^-1 cardamonin), oe-NC group (transfected with negative control plasmid oe-NC on the basis of experimental group), oe-FAM110A group (transfected with overexpressed plasmid oe-FAM110A on the basis of experimental group). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the relative expression levels of FAM110A messenger RNA (mRNA) in each group of cells. The relative expression levels of FAM110A protein and the expression of E-cadherin and N-cadherin, which are related to epithelial mesenchymal transformation, were detected by immunofluorescence assay. Detection indexes of aerobic glycolysis in each group were detected by kit. The JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway related protein phosphorylation level in each group was detected by Western blot.

The relative expression levels of FAM110A mRNA in control group and experimental group were 1.00±0.12 and 0.54±0.10, respectively, and the relative expression levels of FAM110A protein were 1.00±0.15 and 0.13±0.03, respectively; the mRNA and protein relative expression levels of FAM110A in experimental group were significantly different from those in control group (all P<0.05). The relative expression levels of E-cadherin protein in control group, experimental group, oe-NC group and oe-FAM110A group were 1.00±0.14, 2.98±0.51, 3.00±0.54 and 1.47±0.26, respectively; the relative expression levels of N-cadherin protein were 1.00±0.11, 0.41±0.08, 0.47±0.10 and 0.94±0.17; the relative lactic acid production were 1.00±0.19, 0.61±0.11, 0.59±0.09 and 0.98±0.16, respectively; the relative glucose absorption values were 1.00±0.16, 0.41±0.08, 0.42±0.08 and 0.88±0.15, respectively; the relative adenosine triphosphate production were 1.00±0.20, 0.29±0.05, 0.33±0.06 and 0.96±0.18, respectively; the phospho-JAK2/JAK2 levels were 1.00±0.17, 0.54±0.11, 0.58±0.10 and 0.91±0.15, respectively; the phospho-STAT3/STAT3 levels were 1.00±0.14, 0.37±0.06, 0.38±0.06 and 0.92±0.12, respectively; the above indexes in the experimental group were significantly different from those in the control group, and those in the oe-FAM110A group were significantly different from those in the oe-NC group (all P<0.05).

Cardamonin can inhibit aerobic glycolysis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in breast cancer cells MCF-7, and the mechanism may be through down-regulating FAM110A and inhibiting JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway.