Suppression of fatty acid synthase in MCF-7 breast cancer cells by tea and tea polyphenols: a possible mechanism for their hypolipidemic effects

Tea is a heavily consumed beverage world wide because of its unique aroma, less cost and broad availability. Fatty acid synthase (FAS) is a key enzyme in lipogenesis. FAS is overexpressed in the malignant human breast carcinoma MCF-7 cells and its expression is further enhanced by the epidermal growth factor (EGF). The EGF-induced expression of FAS was inhibited by green and black tea extracts. The expression of FAS was also suppressed by the tea polyphenol (−)-epigallocatechin 3-gallate (EGCG), theaflavin (TF-1), TF-2 and theaflavin 3,3′-digallate(TF-3) at both protein and mRNA levels that may lead to the inhibition of cell lipogenesis and proliferation. Both EGCG and TF-3 inhibit the activation of Akt and block the binding of Sp-1 to its target site. Furthermore, the EGF-induced biosyntheses of lipids and cell proliferation were significantly suppressed by EGCG and TF-3. These findings suggest that tea polyphenols suppress FAS expression by downregulating EGF receptor/PI3K/Akt/Sp-1 signal transduction pathway, and tea and tea polyphenols might induce hypolipidemic and antiproliferative effects by suppressing FAS.