A millet bran-derived peroxidase inhibits cell migration by antagonizing STAT3-mediated epithelial-mesenchymal transition in human colon cancer

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) is one of the most important food crops in Northern China. The millet-derived antioxidant components play important roles in disease prevention. Here, we reported a peroxidase from foxtail millet bran, named FMBP, could display anti-migration effects on human colon cancer cells of DLD1. Notably, it had no effects on the normal colon epithelial cells of FHC. The anti-migration effects of FMBP were mainly realized by virtue of antagonizing epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). Mechanistically, FMBP treatment decreased the phosphorylation of JAK1 and its downstream signaling molecular STAT3, followed by the reduced expression of c-Myc and Snail1, both of them are critical regulators of EMT. Consistently, STAT3 overexpression could partially reverse the migration inhibition caused by FMBP. It demonstrated that FMBP hampered colon cancer cell migration by targeting the STAT3 pathway. Therefore, the millet bran-derived peroxidase may be exploited as a natural therapeutic agent against colon cancer metastasis.