Human somatostatin receptor-3 distinctively induces apoptosis in MCF-7 and cell cycle arrest in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells

• SSTR3 overexpression was studied in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells.
• EGF induced proliferation in breast cancer cells is inhibited with overexpression of SSTR3.
• SSTR3 overexpression in MCF-7 triggered cytotoxic effects.
• MDA-MB-231 cells with over expression of SSTR3 exhibit cytostatic effects.

Somatostatin (SST) mediates cytostatic and pro-apoptotic effects through five somatostatin receptors (SSTR1-5). The modest clinical benefits of SST analogs in cancers of different origin such as breast cancer are attributed to diminished SSTRs expression at tumor sites. In the present study, SSTR3 was overexpressed in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, and analyzed for downstream signaling molecules associated with cytostatic and cytotoxic effect. Cells overexpressing SSTR3 displayed inhibition of EGF induced proliferation and enhanced antiproliferative effect of SSTR3-specific agonist in comparison to non-transfected cells. SSTR3 overexpression in MCF-7 cells (R3-MCF-7) constitutively enhanced TUNEL staining, PARP-1 and p27Kip1 expression suggesting apoptosis and cell-cycle arrest. Conversely, R3-MB-231 cells with SSTR3 overexpression exerted cytostatic and were devoid of any cytotoxic effects. The expression of PTP-1C and the status of ERK1/2, p38 and PI3K phosphorylation was modulated in a cell-specific manner. These findings provide new insights in understanding the antiproliferative role of SSTR3 in breast tumor biology.