Zinc complex of 3,5-di-tert-butyl salicylate inhibits viability, migration, and invasion in triple-negative breast cancer cells

The zinc complex of 3,5-di-tert-butyl salicylate (Zn{[CH(3))(3)C](2)Sal}(2)(2−)) is a zinc ion chelate of salicylate. In this study, we found that this compound inhibits viability, invasion, and migration and induces apoptosis in triple-negative breast cancer 4T1 cells. RNA-seq showed that the expression of 17 genes was upregulated and 26 genes were downregulated significantly by Zn{[CH(3))(3)C](2)Sal}(2)(2−) treatment. Further GO and KEGG analysis showed that the activity of Zn{[CH(3))(3)C](2)Sal}(2)(2−) against triple-negative breast cancer cells may be involved in the JAK-STAT3, HIF-1, and TNF signaling pathways. The expression of key genes was verified by RT–PCR. The phosphorylation of STAT3 and its upstream SRC decreased drastically upon Zn{[CH(3))(3)C](2)Sal}(2)(2−) treatment, as demonstrated by western blot. Our results indicate that Zn{[CH(3))(3)C](2)Sal}(2)(2−) inhibits the activity of TNBC cells by downregulating the STAT3 signaling through the SRC pathway.