Methylation of PLCD1 and adenovirus-mediated PLCD1 overexpression elicits a gene therapy effect on human breast cancer

Our previous study showed that PLCD1 significantly decreases cell proliferation and affects cell cycle progression in breast cancer cells. In the present study, we aimed to investigate its functional and molecular mechanisms, and whether or not can become a new target for gene therapies. We found reduced PLCD1 protein expression in breast tumor tissues compared with paired surgical margin tissues. PLCD1 promoter CpG methylation was detected in 55 of 96 (57%) primary breast tumors, but not in surgical-margin tissues and normal breast tissues. Ectopic expression of PLCD1 inhibited breast tumor cell proliferation in vivo by inducing apoptosis and suppressed tumor cell migration by regulating cytoskeletal reorganization proteins including RhoA and phospho-cofilin. Furthermore, we found that PLCD1 induced p53 accumulation, increased p27 and p21 protein levels, and cleaved PARP. Finally, we constructed an adenoviral vector expressing PLCD1 (AdH5-PLCD1), which exhibited strong cytotoxicity in breast cancer cells. Our findings provide insights into the development of PLCD1 gene therapies for breast cancer and perhaps, other human cancers. - Highlights: • PLCD1 is downregulated via hypermethylation in breast cancer. • PLCD1 suppressed cell migration by regulating cytoskeletal reorganization proteins. • Adenovirus AdHu5-PLCD1 may be a novel therapeutic option for breast cancer