Discovery of the mechanism of n-propylparaben-promoting the proliferation of human breast adenocarcinoma cells by activating human estrogen receptors via metabolomics analysis.

Background: N-propylparaben (PP), a type of paraben, is commonly used as a preservative or antibacterial agent in daily chemicals, medicine, food, cosmetics, feed, and various industrial preservatives. Although PP promotes the growth of human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cells by activating the human estrogen receptor (ER), the mechanism responsible for this type of programmed cell proliferation is poorly understood.

Objective: To clarify the effect of PP on cell metabolic function and the potential molecular mechanism of PP induced MCF-7 cell proliferation from a new perspective.

Methods: To use high-resolution mass spectrometry-based metabolomics combined with bioinformatics analysis to analyze the molecular mechanism.

Results: The results illustrated that differential endogenous compounds related to the effects of PP on cell metabolic functions were detected. PP was found to promote glycolysis in MCF-7 cells and enhance the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle) in mitochondria, thus improving the energy supply to these tumor cells for metabolic function and promotion of rapid proliferation. Moreover, we found that PP promoted cell proliferation by affecting the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway of MCF-7 cells.

Conclusion: Our results revealed the molecular mechanism of low concentration PP promoting MCF-7 cell proliferation by activating ER.