Nitric Oxide-Scavenging, Anti-Migration Effects, and Glycosylation Changes after Hemin Treatment of Human Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells: A Mechanistic Study

The enhanced expression of nitric oxide (^•NO) synthase predicts triple-negative breast cancer outcome and its resistance to different therapeutics. Our earlier work demonstrated the efficiency of hemin to scavenge the intra- and extracellular ^•NO, proposing its potency as a therapeutic agent for inhibiting cancer cell migration. In continuation, the present work evaluates the effects of ^•NO on the migration of MDA-MB-231 cells and how hemin modulates the accompanied cellular behavior, focusing on the corresponding expression of cellular glycoproteins, migration-associated markers, and mitochondrial functions. We demonstrated for the first time that while ^•NO induced cell migration, hemin contradicted that by ^•NO-scavenging. This was in combination with modulation of the ^•NO-enhanced glycosylation patterns of cellular proteins with inhibition of the expression of specific proteins involved in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. These effects were in conjunction with changes in the mitochondrial functions related to both ^•NO, hemin, and its nitrosylated product. Together, these results suggest that hemin can be employed as a potential anti-migrating agent targeting ^•NO-scavenging and regulating the expression of migration-associated proteins.