The milk-derived fusion peptide, ACFP, suppresses the growth of primary human ovarian cancer cells by regulating apoptotic gene expression and signaling pathways

BACKGROUND: ACFP is an anti-cancer fusion peptide derived from bovine milk protein. This study was to investigate the anti-cancer function and underlying mechanisms of ACFP in ovarian cancer. METHODS: Fresh ovarian tumor tissues were collected from 53 patients who underwent initial debulking surgery, and primary cancer cells were cultured. Normal ovarian surface epithelium cells (NOSECs), isolated from 7 patients who underwent surgery for uterine fibromas, were used as normal control tissue. Anti-viabilities of ACFP were assessed by WST-1 (water-soluble tetrazolium 1), and apoptosis was measured using a flow cytometry-based assay. Gene expression profiles of ovarian cancer cells treated with ACFP were generated by cDNA microarray, and the expression of apoptotic-specific genes, such as bcl-xl, bax, akt, caspase-3, CDC25C and cyclinB1, was assessed by real time PCR and western blot analysis. RESULTS: Treatment with ACFP inhibited the viability and promoted apoptosis of primary ovarian cancer cells but exhibited little or no cytotoxicity toward normal primary ovarian cells. Mechanistically, the anti-cancer effects of ACFP in ovarian cells were shown to occur partially via changes in gene expression and related signal pathways. Gene expression profiling highlighted that ACFP treatment in ovarian cancer cells repressed the expression of bcl-xl, akt, CDC25C and cyclinB1 and promoted the expression of bax and caspase-3 in a time- and dose-dependent manner. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that ACFP may represent a potential therapeutic agent for ovarian cancer that functions by altering the expression and signaling of cancer-related pathways in ovarian cancer cells. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-016-2281-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.