All-trans retinoic acid enhances bystander effect of suicide gene therapy in the treatment of breast cancer

All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) has been shown to enhance the expression of connexin 43 (Cx43) and the bystander effect (BSE) in suicide gene therapy. These in turn improve effects of suicide gene therapies for several tumor types. However, whether ATRA can improve BSE remains unclear in suicide gene therapy for breast cancer. In the present study, MCF-7, human breast cancer cells were treated with ATRA in combination with a VEGFP-TK/CD gene suicide system developed by our group. We found that this combination enhances the efficiency of cell killing and apoptosis of breast cancer by strengthening the BSE in vitro. ATRA also promotes gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC) in MCF-7 cells by upregulation of the connexin 43 mRNA and protein in MCF-7 cells. These results indicate that enhancement of GJIC by ATRA in suicide gene system might serve as an attractive and cost-effective strategy of therapy for breast cancer cells.