Biotransformed Soybean Extract (BSE) Inhibits Melanoma Cell Growth and Viability In Vitro: Involvement of Nuclear Factor-Kappa B Signaling

Melanoma is recognized as one of the most aggressive cancers with a relatively high propensity for metastasis. The prognosis of melanoma remains poor in spite of treatment advances, emphasizing the importance of additional preventive measures. Isoflavonoids have become not only potential chemopreventive, but also important therapeutic natural agents. We evaluated the antiproliferative and proapoptotic properties of biotransformed soybean extract (BSE) in A375 melanoma cells. Previous analyses demonstrated that the concentration of daidzein, genistein and aminoacids/peptides present in BSE, fermented by Aspergillus awamori is much higher than in the non biotransformed extract (NBSE). Experiments comparing the efficacy of the extracts in preventing cancer cell growth showed that treatment (24 h) of aggressive melanoma cells (A375 and 451Lu) with BSE resulted in a dose-dependent inhibition of growth and viability. In contrast, treatment with similar doses of NBSE failed to inhibit melanoma cell viability. Further studies in A375 cells showed that decrease in cell viability with BSE treatment (1.5–1.9 mg/ml; 24 h) was associated with induction of apoptosis. Immunoblot analysis revealed that BSE treatment resulted in induction of PARP cleavage, activation of caspase-3, -7, and -8 and increased expression of TRAIL and its receptor DR4. BSE did not activate the intrinsic apoptotic pathway in A375 cells, as no change was observed in caspase-9 expression. The expression of Bcl-2 apoptotic proteins such as Bid and Bax remained unaffected with BSE treated cells. Interestingly, we also showed that BSE treatment increased the phosphorylation and activation of IKK, IκBα degradation and p65/NF-κB translocation to the nucleus, and that stimulation of the NF-???B pathway was required for BSE-induced apoptosis of A375 cells. Our findings indicate that the biotransformation of soybean plays a crucial role in the extract anti-cancer effect observed in melanoma cells. However, further studies are warranted to define the active anti-cancer agent(s) present in BSE.