Chinese Herbal Mixture, Tien-Hsien Liquid, Induces G2/M Cycle Arrest and Radiosensitivity in MCF-7 Human Breast Cancer Cells through Mechanisms Involving DNMT1 and Rad51 Downregulation

The Chinese herbal mixture, Tien-Hsien Liquid (THL), has been proven to suppress the growth and invasiveness of cancer cells and is currently regarded as a complementary medicine for the treatment of cancer. Our previous study using acute promyelocytic leukemia cells uncovered its effect on the downregulation of DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) which is often overexpressed in cancer cells resulting in the repression of tumor suppressors via hypermethylation. Herein, we explored the effects of THL in MCF-7 breast cancer cells that also demonstrate elevated DNMT1. The results show that THL dose-dependently downregulated DNMT1 accompanied by the induction of tumor suppressors such as p21 and p15. THL arrested cell cycle in G2/M phase and decreased the protein levels of cyclin A, cyclin B1, phospho-pRb, and AKT. DNMT1 inhibition was previously reported to exert a radiosensitizing effect in cancer cells through the repression of DNA repair. We found that THL enhanced radiation-induced clonogenic cell death in MCF-7 cells and decreased the level of DNA double-strand break repair protein, Rad51. Our observations may be the result of DNMT1 downregulation. Due to the fact that DNMT1 inhibition is now a mainstream strategy for anticancer therapy, further clinical trials of THL to confirm its clinical efficacy are warranted.