Metformin suppresses triple-negative breast cancer stem cells by targeting KLF5 for degradation

Out of the breast cancer subtypes, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has the poorest prognosis without effective targeted therapies. Metformin, a first-line drug for type 2 diabetes mellitus, was demonstrated to target breast cancer stem cells selectively. However, the efficiency and the mechanism of action of metformin in TNBC are unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that metformin decreased the percentage of TNBC stem cells partially through the downregulation of the expression of the stem cell transcription factor Krüppel-like factor 5 (KLF5) and its downstream target genes, such as Nanog and FGF-BP1, in TNBC cell lines. Metformin induced glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β)-mediated KLF5 protein phosphorylation and degradation through the inhibition of protein kinase A (PKA) activity in TNBC cells. Consistently, PKA activators increased the expression levels of KLF5. We observed a positive correlation between p-CREB, p-GSK3β, KLF5 and FGF-BP1 protein levels in human TNBC samples. These findings suggest that metformin suppresses TNBC stem cells partially through the PKA-GSK3β-KLF5 signaling pathway.