Involvement of NF-κB-mediated expression of galectin-3-binding protein in TNF-α-induced breast cancer cell adhesion.

Galectin-3-binding protein (G3BP) is highly expressed in various types of cancer and is thought to be involved in cancer malignancy; however, the role of G3BP in breast cancer cells is not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the role of NF-κB in the adhesion of breast cancer cells to a substrate by using (-)-DHMEQ, a specific inhibitor of NF-κB. (-)-DHMEQ inhibited both TNF-α-induced G3BP expression and cell adhesion in human breast cancer cell lines. We also found that knockdown of G3BP suppressed the adhesion, while its overexpression increased the adhesion. These data reveal that (-)-DHMEQ suppresses breast cancer cell adhesion by inhibiting NF-κB-regulated G3BP expression.