A complex between 6-iodolactone and the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor type gamma may mediate the antineoplasic effect of iodine in mammary cancer

Recently we and other groups have shown that molecular iodine (I2) exhibits potent antiproliferative and apoptotic effects in mammary cancer models. In the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7, I2 treatment generates iodine-containing lipids similar to 6-iodo-5-hydroxy-eicosatrienoic acid and the 6-iodolactone (6-IL) derivative of arachidonic acid (AA), and it significantly decreases cellular proliferation and induces caspase-dependent apoptosis. Several studies have shown that AA is a natural ligand of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), which are nuclear transcription factors thought to participate in regulating cancer cell proliferation. Our results show that in MCF-7 cells: (1) 6-IL binds specifically and with high affinity to PPAR proteins (EMSA assays), (2) 6-IL activates both transfected (by transactivation assays) and endogenous (by lipid accumulation) peroxisome proliferator response elements, and (3) 6-IL supplementation increases PPARγ and decreases PPARα expression. These results implicate PPARs in a molecular mechanism by which I2, through formation of 6-IL, inhibits the growth of human breast cancer cells.