Influência de novos complexos ternários de cobre sobre o perfil transcricional de lncRNAs em células de câncer de mama triplo-negativo

Abstract

Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequently diagnosed malignant tumor in women worldwide. Among its subtypes, triple-negative BC (TNBC) stands out for its aggressiveness and resistance to conventional treatments, as it lacks the expression of estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) hormone receptors, as well as the human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2). Recently, copper(II)-Cu(II) complexes have emerged as promising antitumor agents, and, in the present study, four novel complexes were evaluated for their biological effects on BC cell lines. Compounds 2 and 3 showed high cytotoxicity and selectivity, inhibiting the clonogenicity and migration of TNBC cells, in addition to the activation of caspases 3 and 8. Interestingly, 2 and 3 negatively modulated the expression of lncRNAs associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition, suggesting that these complexes act on multiple mechanisms related to tumor aggressiveness. These findings indicate that complexes 2 and 3 have promising therapeutic potential for the treatment of TNBC, reinforcing the need to further explore the molecular mechanisms involved in their antitumor activity.