Effects of zearalenone on proliferation and apoptosis in MCF-7 cells / 中华预防医学杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effects of zearalenone (ZEA) on proliferation and apoptosis in estrogen-dependent human breast cancer MCF-7 cells and the likely underlying molecular mechanisms.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Cell viability was determined by MTT assay and cell cycle distribution by cytometry. Apoptosis was detected by Cell Death Detection ELISA and cytometry, respectively. The expressions of bax and bcl-2 were examined using multiple RT-PCR and Western-blot both at mRNA and protein level, respectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The current study confirmed the previous studies that ZEA could stimulate proliferation in MCF-7 cells with inducing a profound increase in S phase and a modest increase in G(2)/M phase that was accompanied by a decrease in G(0)/G(1) phase. ZEA could inhibit apoptosis in MCF-7 cells following estrogen ablation at a range of concentrations of 2 nmol/L -96 nmol/L. Western blot and RT-PCR analysis revealed that the anti-apoptotic bcl-2 was upregulated at both protein and mRNA level, together with the downregulation of pro-apoptotic bax.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>ZEA should have possessed comparative estrogenic activity and could promote the progression of MCF-7 cells through the cell cycle by a decreasing in the G(0)/G(1) phase and by a significant increasing in S-phase. The pro-proliferative activity of ZEA was due to inhibition of apoptosis through regulation of bax/bcl-2 expression.</p>