[Effects of antiestrogens and medroxyprogesterone acetate on the clonogenic growth of tamoxifen-sensitive and resistant human breast cancer cells]

Abstract

Effects of tamoxifen (TAM), nafoxidine (NFA), 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4-OH-TAM), 3-hydroxytamoxifen (3-OH-TAM), and medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) on the clonogenic growth of a hormone-responsive human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) and its tamoxifen-resistant variant (R-27) were studied. TAM, (10(-6)M) showed an inhibitory effect on the colony formation in a plastic dish of MCF-7 cells only in medium containing DDC-treated FCS (E2(-) medium). With the presence of E2 (10(-8)M) in the medium (E2(+) medium), TAM did not show any effect on cell growth. Irrespective of the presence or absence of E2 in the medium, there was no inhibitory effect of TAM on the clonogenic growth of R-27 cells. The ID50 values, expressed as the suppression of plating efficiencies, obtained by adding NFA, 4-OH-TAM, 3-OH-TAM, and MPA to the MCF-7 cells were shown to be 2 X 10(-7)M, less than 10(-8)M, 1 X 10(-7)M, and 4 X 10(-7)M, respectively in the E2 (-) medium, and 2 X 10(-6)M, 2 X 10(-7)M, 2 X 10(-6)M, and 4 X 10(-8)M respectively in the E2 (+) medium. For the R-27 cells, ID50 values obtained by adding NAF, 4-OH-TAM, 3-OH-TAM, and MPA were 7 X 10(-7)M, 5 X 10(-8)M, 4 X 10(-7)M, and 6 X 10(-8)M, respectively in the E2(-) medium, and 2 X 10(-6)M, 2 X 10(-6)M, greater than 5 X 10(-6)M, and 1 X 10(-8)M, respectively in the E2(+) medium. These results suggest that the antiestrogens used produce their suppressive effects on cell growth depending on the E2 concentration in the medium in these estrogen-responsive cell lines, and that the monohydroxytamoxifens are more potent than TAM in suppressing cell growth. The effects of MPA are shown to be different from the antiestrogen used in that MPA inhibited the growth of both TAM-sensitive and-resistant cells, independent of the presence or absence of E2 in the medium. The R-27 cell line, a variant of the MCF-7 cell line, appears to be a good model for studying antiestrogen resistance and for evaluating the effectiveness of agents against endocrine-resistant breast cancer cells.