Tissues are subjected to dynamic communication between cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM), resulting in ECM remodeling. One of the ECM components is elastin, which releases elastin-derived peptides (EDPs) during the aging process. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of the VGVAPG hexapeptide and elastin-like peptide VVGPGA (control) on certain metabolism parameters in human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) and human lung carcinoma (A549) cell lines. The results did not show a significant effect of the peptides on metabolic activity and caspase-3 activity. However, more specific analysis revealed that VGVAPG and VVGPGA were able to increase KI67 protein expression in both tested cell lines after 24-h treatment. Moreover, the same correlation was observed at the KI67 gene level. VGVAPG also increased the P53, ATM and SHH gene expression in the A549 cells up to 19.08%, 20.74%, and 28.77%, respectively. Interestingly, the VGVAPG peptide exerted an effect on the expression of antioxidant enzymes SOD2 and CAT in the A549 and MCF-7 cells, especially after the 24-h treatment. Lastly, both peptides influenced the CAV1 and CLTC1 expression. Our results show that the tested EDPs have an effect on both A549 and MCF-7 cells at the cellular level. This may be correlated with the multidrug-resistance (MDR) phenotype in these cancer cells, which is an emerging problem in the current anticancer treatment. However, more research is needed in this field.
Keywords: Breast cancer; Cancer; Elastin derived peptides; Lung cancer; Proliferation.
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