Molecular mechanisms of the anticancer action of fustin isolated from <i>Cotinus coggygria</i> Scop. in MDA-MB-231 triple-negative breast cancer cell line

The aim of the present work was to investigate some of the molecular mechanisms and targets of the anticancer action of the bioflavonoid fustin isolated from the heartwood of <i>Cotinus coggygria</i> Scop. in the triple-negative breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. For this purpose, we applied fluorescence microscopy analysis to evaluate apoptosis, necrosis, and mitochondrial integrity, wound healing assay to study fustin antimigratory potential and quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction to analyze the expression of genes associated with cell cycle control, programmed cell death, metastasis, and epigenetic alterations. A complex network-based bioinformatic analysis was also employed for protein-protein network construction, hub genes identification, and functional enrichment. The results revealed a significant induction of early and late apoptotic and necrotic events, a slight alteration of the mitochondria-related fluorescence, and marked antimotility effect after fustin treatment. Of 34 analyzed genes, seven fustin targets were identified, of which <i>CDKN1A</i>, <i>ATM</i>, and <i>MYC</i> were significantly enriched in pathways such as cell cycle, intrinsic apoptotic signaling pathway in response to DNA damage and generic transcription pathway. Our findings outline some molecular mechanisms of the anticancer action of fustin pointing it out as a potential oncotherapeutic agent and provide directions for future <i>in vivo</i> research.