应用siRNA技术探讨MCF-7乳腺癌细胞分泌的VEGF对树突状细胞的影响

为探讨MCF-7乳腺癌细胞分泌的血管内皮生长因子（ vascular endothelial growth factor, VEGF）对树突状细胞（dendritic cell, DC）功能及其分化的影响,针对VEGF基因设计siRNA（small interfering RNA, siRNA),采用脂质体转染法以100 nmol/L最佳转染浓度导入MCF-7乳腺癌细胞（siRNA组）,以脂质体Lipofectamine　2000TM转染MCF-7 乳腺癌细胞培养上清培养正常DC作为对照（对照组）,采用ELISA法检测经siRNA 干扰VEGF基因后的MCF-7 乳腺癌细胞分泌的VEGF因子含量, Western 印迹检测VEGF蛋白表达,以探讨siRNA的基因沉默效果;以siRNA组和对照组培养上清分别培养外周血单个核细胞,用流式细胞仪检测所诱导DC表型CD1a、CD80、CD83、CD86和HLA-DR的表达,用MTT法检测转染前后两组DC 诱导的细胞毒性T淋巴细胞（cytotoxic T lymphocyte, CTL）对MCF-7细胞的细胞毒作用.结果显示,MCF-7 乳腺癌细胞培养上清能明显抑制正常DC分化成熟及抗原递呈能力,干扰VEGF基因后MCF-7 乳腺癌细胞培养上清对DC的影响明显降低,CD80、CD83、CD86和HLA-DR的表达较对照组显著升高,而CD1a表达下降（P＜0.01）.转染前后DC 诱导的CTL对MCF-7细胞的杀伤活性有明显差异（P＜0.01）.由此可见,siRNA可靶向抑制MCF-7乳腺癌细胞VEGF的表达,下调VEGF后的MCF-7 细胞上清对DC分化成熟及功能的抑制作用明显降低,从而推测VEGF在肿瘤的发生、发展和免疫抑制方面可能起着重要的作用.     

白藜芦醇对乳腺癌细胞MCF-7 增殖的影响

目的:研究白藜芦醇体外活性,确定它的植物雌激素作用。方法:采用MTT法观察不同浓度白藜芦醇对MCF-7细胞增殖作用的影响。采用DNA ladder法和荧光显微镜观察高浓度白藜芦醇对细胞的影响。免疫组化法观察低浓度白藜芦醇对核增殖抗原PCNA表达的影响。结果:MTT结果显示白藜芦醇高浓度抑制MCF-7细胞增殖,IC50为8.70×10-5mol/L;低浓度(10-7~10-6mol/L)则对细胞有促增殖作用,最高促增殖浓度为1.0×10-7mol/L。DNA ladder和荧光显微镜可观察到高浓度白藜芦醇作用后细胞典型的凋亡形态。免疫组化结果显示低浓度白藜芦醇作用后,细胞核内PCNA表达明显增加(P<0.05)。结论:高、低浓度的白藜芦醇对MCF-7细胞分别表现为诱导凋亡和促增殖作用,呈现出植物雌激素对MCF-7细胞典型的双向调节作用。     

白藜芦醇对乳腺癌细胞MCF-7增殖的影响

目的：研究白藜芦醇体外活性,确定它的植物雌激素作用。方法：采用MTT法观察不同浓度白藜芦醇对MCF-7细胞增殖作用的影响。采用DNA ladder法和荧光显微镜观察高浓度白藜芦醇对细胞的影响。免疫组化法观察低浓度白藜芦醇对核增殖抗原PCNA表达的影响。结果：MTT结果显示白藜芦醇高浓度抑制MCF-7细胞增殖,IC50为8.70×10-5mol/L;低浓度（10-7~10-6mol/L）则对细胞有促增殖作用,最高促增殖浓度为1.0×10-7mol/L。DNA ladder和荧光显微镜可观察到高浓度白藜芦醇作用后细胞典型的凋亡形态。免疫组化结果显示低浓度白藜芦醇作用后,细胞核内PCNA表达明显增加（P〈0.05）。结论：高、低浓度的白藜芦醇对MCF-7细胞分别表现为诱导凋亡和促增殖作用,呈现出植物雌激素对MCF-7细胞典型的双向调节作用。     

DNA Methylation-Dependent Epigenetic Regulation of Gene Expression in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells

To identify epigenetically-regulated genes in breast cancer, MCF-7 cells were exposed to 250nM 5-aza or 5-aza + 50nM TSA for 3 weeks followed by a 5 week recovery period after treatment withdrawal and gene expression patterns were examined by microarray analysis. We identified 20 genes that are associated with a >2-fold increase in expression in response to the demethylating treatment but returned to control levels after treatment withdrawal. RT-PCR verified that the genes identified were expressed at low or undetectable levels in control MCF-7 cells, but increased expression in treated cells. Most of these putative epigentically-regulated genes in MCF-7 cells do not contain CpG islands. In fact, these genes could be classified based upon their promoter CpG features, including genes with: (i) typical CpG features (CpG islands), (ii) intermediate CpG features (weak CpG islands), and (iii) atypical CpG features (no CpG islands). Prototype genes from each class (including CpG-deficient genes) were shown to be methylation-sensitive (subject to CpG methylation and responsive to demethylating agents), suggesting that not all gene targets of DNA methylation in breast cancer will contain a CpG island. Based upon the results of the current study and observations from the literature, we propose expansion of the current model for methylation-dependent regulation of gene expression to include genes lacking typical CpG islands. The expanded model we propose recognizes that all promoter CpG dinucleotides represent legitimate targets for DNA methylation and that the methylation of specific CpG dinucleotides in critical domains of regulatory regions can result in gene silencing.      

Chronic Oxidative Stress Increases Growth and Tumorigenic Potential of MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells

Accumulating evidence suggests that exposures to elevated levels of either endogenous estrogen or environmental estrogenic chemicals are associated with breast cancer development and progression. These natural or synthetic estrogens are known to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) and increased ROS has been implicated in both cellular apoptosis and carcinogenesis. Though there are several studies on direct involvement of ROS in cellular apoptosis using short-term exposure model, there is no experimental evidence to directly implicate chronic exposure to ROS in increased growth and tumorigenicity of breast cancer cells. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of chronic oxidative stress on growth, survival and tumorigenic potential of MCF-7 breast cancer cells. MCF-7 cells were exposed to exogenous hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) as a source of ROS at doses of 25 µM and 250 µM for acute (24 hours) and chronic period (3 months) and their effects on cell growth/survival and tumorigenic potential were evaluated. The results of cell count, MTT and cell cycle analysis showed that while acute exposure inhibits the growth of MCF-7 cells in a dose-dependent manner, the chronic exposure to H₂O₂-induced ROS leads to increased cell growth and survival of MCF-7 cells. This was further confirmed by gene expression analysis of cell cycle and cell survival related genes. Significant increase in number of soft agar colonies, up-regulation of pro-metastatic genes VEGF, WNT1 and CD44, whereas down-regulation of anti-metastatic gene E-Cadherin in H₂O₂ treated MCF-7 cells observed in this study further suggests that persistent exposure to oxidative stress increases tumorigenic and metastatic potential of MCF-7 cells. Since many chemotherapeutic drugs are known to induce their cytotoxicity by increasing ROS levels, the results of this study are also highly significant in understanding the mechanism for adaptation to ROS-induced toxicity leading to acquired chemotherapeutic resistance in breast cancer cells.     

Effects of Dimeric Bisbenzimidazoles and Ionizing Radiation on MCF-7 Breast Cancer Stem Cells

Biophysics - Abstract—This study aimed to determine how to eliminate and/or increase the radiosensitivity of a population of cancer stem cells that are responsible for radioresistance in...     

Quercetin Suppresses Twist to Induce Apoptosis in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells

Quercetin is a dietary flavonoid which exerts anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. In this study, we investigated the anti-proliferative effect of quercetin in two breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231), which differed in hormone receptor. IC₅₀ value (37μM) of quercetin showed significant cytotoxicity in MCF-7 cells, which was not observed in MDA-MB-231 cells even at 100μM of quercetin treatment. To study the response of cancer cells to quercetin, with respect to different hormone receptors, both the cell lines were treated with a fixed concentration (40μM) of quercetin. MCF-7 cells on quercetin treatment showed more apoptotic cells with G1 phase arrest. In addition, quercetin effectively suppressed the expression of CyclinD1, p21, Twist and phospho p38MAPK, which was not observed in MDA-MB-231 cells. To analyse the molecular mechanism of quercetin in exerting an apoptotic effect in MCF-7 cells, Twist was over-expressed and the molecular changes were observed after quercetin administration. Quercetin effectively regulated the expression of Twist, in turn p16 and p21 which induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. In conclusion, quercetin induces apoptosis in breast cancer cells through suppression of Twist via p38MAPK pathway.     

去氢木香内酯干预人乳腺癌MCF-7细胞机制的探究

目的:探讨去氢木香内酯对乳腺癌MCF-7细胞凋亡、线粒体跨膜电位及代谢物的影响,为研究去氢木香内酯诱导MCF-7细胞凋亡的作用机制提供新的视角。方法:采用流式细胞仪测定不同浓度去氢木香内酯(0、2、4、8μg/m L)对MCF-7细胞凋亡及线粒体跨膜电位的影响;GC-TOFMS测定去氢木香内酯作用前后,MCF-7细胞内具有显著性变化的代谢差异物。结果:研究结果表明,去氢木香内酯能诱导MCF-7细胞的凋亡、促进线粒体跨膜电位的降低;正交偏最小二乘法判别分析(OPLS-DA)多维统计方法对代谢组学数据分析得到柠檬酸、D-核糖、脯氨酸、苯丙氨酸、赖氨酸等16种代谢差异物。结论:推测去氢木香内酯通过引起线粒体跨膜电位降低而破坏了线粒体的结构,进一步阻碍了线粒体的功能,导致了细胞内代谢物的紊乱,最终诱导了细胞的凋亡。     

Differential Epigenetic Effects of Atmospheric Cold Plasma on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells

Cold atmospheric plasma (plasma) has emerged as a novel tool for a cancer treatment option, having been successfully applied to a few types of cancer cells, as well as tissues. However, to date, no studies have been performed to examine the effect of plasma on epigenetic alterations, including CpG methylation. In this study, the effects of plasma on DNA methylation changes in breast cancer cells were examined by treating cultured MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells, representing estrogen-positive and estrogen-negative cancer cells, respectively, with plasma. A pyrosequencing analysis of Alu indicated that a specific CpG site was induced to be hypomethylated from 23.4 to 20.3% (p < 0.05) by plasma treatment in the estrogen-negative MDA-MB-231 cells only. A genome-wide methylation analysis identified “cellular movement, connective tissue development and function, tissue development” and “cell-to-cell signaling and interaction, cell death and survival, cellular development” as the top networks. Of the two cell types, the MDA-MB-231 cells underwent a higher rate of apoptosis and a decreased proliferation rate upon plasma treatment. Taken together, these results indicate that plasma induces epigenetic and cellular changes in a cell type-specific manner, suggesting that a careful screening of target cells and tissues is necessary for the potential application of plasma as a cancer treatment option.     

MDM2反义寡核苷酸联合紫杉醇对乳腺癌MCF-7细胞株的作用

目的:探讨靶向MDM2反义寡核苷酸(ASON)联合紫杉醇对乳腺癌MCF-7细胞株的影响。方法:合成一段与MDM2 mRNA特异性结合的反义寡核苷酸和与反义寡核苷酸有4个碱基不同的的错义寡核苷酸(MON),脂质体2000介导不同浓度的MDM2ASON转染MCF-7乳腺癌细胞系,转染的乳腺癌细胞通过1μmol/L紫杉醇药物处理后,采用RT-PCR和Western Blot方法检测MDM2 ASON联合紫杉醇的协同作用及对乳腺癌MCF-7细胞株的抑制效率,MTT观察给药后MCF-7细胞的增殖能力和药物敏感性。结果:MDM2反义寡核苷酸联合紫杉醇明显下调MDM2 mRNA及MDM2蛋白表达水平,抑制MCF-7细胞的生长,随着MDM2 ASON浓度的增加,MDM2表达越来越低,协同作用越来越强,呈剂量依赖关系,A500联合紫杉醇的协同作用最明显,MTT显示紫杉醇处理的转染MCF-7细胞增殖抑制率明显增高,A500抑制增殖作用最明显,抑制率达(13.0±0.84)%。结论:不同浓度MDM2 ASON转染后的乳腺癌MCF-7细胞,等浓度紫杉醇处理后,乳腺癌MCF-7细胞MDM2表达明显降低,细胞凋亡增加,,MDM2 ASON联合紫杉醇对MCF-7细胞有协同作用,提高了乳腺癌MCF-7细胞对紫杉醇的药物敏感性。     

GALNT14对人乳腺癌MCF-7细胞迁移的影响

构建真核表达载体pcDNA 3.1-Flag-T14,重组质粒经酶切分析及测序鉴定后,利用脂质体将重组质粒转染人乳腺癌细胞系MCF-7细胞,经G418筛选并建立稳定转染GALNT14细胞株.应用半定量RT-PCR、Western blot检测稳定细胞株GALNT14 mRNA及蛋白表达水平,细胞划痕修复及穿膜试验检测GALNT14基因对MCF-7迁移能力的影响,同时RT-PCR检测GALNT14对MMP-2,MMP-9,TGF-β1及VEGF等肿瘤浸润转移相关因子表达的影响.结果显示成功构建了真核重组表达载体pcDNA 3.1-Flag-T14,经RT-PCR和Western blot检测显示成功获得了稳定表达GALNT14的MCF-7细胞株;GALNT14能够提高MCF-7细胞株的迁移能力,且能增加侵袭转移相关因子MMP-2,MMP-9,TGF-β1及VEGF的表达.结论:GALNT14可明显促进MCF-7细胞的迁移,可能在肿瘤侵袭转移中起重要作用.     

Using Functional Genetics to Understand Breast Cancer Biology

Genetic screens were for long the prerogative of those that studied model organisms. The discovery in 2001 that gene silencing through RNA interference (RNAi) can also be brought about in mammalian cells paved the way for large scale loss-of-function genetic screens in higher organisms. In this article, we describe how functional genetic studies can help us understand the biology of breast cancer, how it can be used to identify novel targets for breast cancer therapy, and how it can help in the identification of those patients that are most likely to respond to a given therapy.Much remains to be learned regarding the function of mammalian genes. Only some quarter of all human genes have well-described functions. It is likely that quite a few of these currently unannotated genes will turn out to play key parts in cancer biology. For example, a 70-gene gene signature that can discriminate breast tumors of good and poor prognosis contained some 20 genes of currently unknown function (van ‘t Veer et al. 2002). The fact that these genes of unknown function foretell breast cancer prognosis hints at a role for at least some of these genes in breast cancer biology. The unbiased search for genes that contribute to breast cancer development is therefore likely to yield a rich harvest of new insights. RNA interference allows us to suppress genes systematically on a large scale and study the effects of gene suppression on specific cellular processes or signaling pathways. Consequently, RNA interference-based genetic screens have the potential to deepen our understanding of the molecular events that cause breast cancer, to find novel targets for therapy and to find biomarkers of drug responsiveness. In this article, we will describe the technologies available to perform both gain-of-function and loss-of-function genetic screens and will illustrate how such functional genetic screens have been used in the recent past to study a variety of outstanding questions in the biology of breast cancer.     

RNA甲基化酶WTAP对乳腺癌MCF-7和耐阿霉素MCF-7/ADR细胞迁移的影响

为了深入探讨乳腺癌治疗耐药的发生机制并寻找乳腺癌治疗耐药的潜在治疗手段,我们以乳腺癌MCF-7和耐阿霉素MCF-7/ADR细胞为研究对象,研究RNA甲基化酶WTAP对其迁移的影响。MTT试验发现阿霉素对MCF-7细胞活力的抑制作用大于对MCF-7/ADR细胞的抑制作用。qPCR和western-blot试验发现WTAP在耐阿霉素细胞MCF-7/ADR中高表达,同时transwell试验发现在MCF-7细胞中增加WTAP的表达对MCF-7细胞的迁移没有影响,而在MCF-7/ADR细胞中敲低WTAP的表达会抑制MCF-7/ADR细胞的迁移。western-blot试验进一步证明了这一作用是通过抑制上皮间质转化(EMT)来发挥的。这一发现有助于为乳腺癌的临床治疗提供新的理论依据并为乳腺癌的治疗提供新的策略。     

Evaluation of Induced Apoptosis by Biosynthesized Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells Using Bak1 and Bclx Expression

Doklady Biochemistry and Biophysics - Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) have peaked interests in many researches in these recent years due to their advantageous application in modern health care...     

腺病毒载体AdING4 对MCF-7乳腺癌细胞的增殖抑制及化疗增敏作用

目的:研究腺病毒载体AdING4对人MCF-7乳腺癌细胞的生长抑制及化疗增敏作用。方法:将搭载有ING-4基因的重组腺病毒载体AdING4感染人MCF-7乳腺癌细胞,用荧光显微镜观察感染后的MCF-7细胞形态学变化;RT-PCR和Western-Blot法检测ING-4基因在MCF-7细胞中的转录和表达;RT-PCR法检测凋亡相关基因在MCF-7细胞中的表达;CCK法测定Ad-ING4感染MCF-7乳腺癌细胞后所发挥的细胞增殖抑制作用。流式细胞技术检测ING-4对MCF-7乳腺癌细胞的促凋亡作用。CCK-8法分别测定病毒感染前后的MCF-7乳腺癌细胞的药物半数抑制浓度IC50,并观察Ad-ING4与化疗药物合用后对MCF-7细胞增殖抑制和化疗增敏现象。结果:MCF-7细胞在转染ING-4基因后,明显出现变圆、脱落、皱缩、聚集等现象;外源性ING-4基因在MCF-7细胞中获得成功表达;外源性ING-4基因作用下MCF-7细胞的增殖受到了明显抑制,凋亡率有所升高,凋亡相关基因Bax的表达水平明显上调,Bcl-2、Survivin的表达水平明显下调。ING-4基因感染MCF-7细胞后,使MCF-7细胞对相关化疗药物的敏感度更高;ING-4基因与化疗药物合用后对MCF-7细胞的增殖抑制作用,较之单用化疗药物更为明显。结论:MCF-7细胞在转染ING4基因后其增殖受到了明显抑制并更易凋亡,该现象可能是通过改变Bax,Bcl-2及Survivin表达水平来实现的,且对化疗药物的敏感性更高。     

人乳腺癌MCF-7细胞在放射线处理的SCID小鼠中转移的实验研究

目的建立人乳腺癌MCF-7细胞SCID(Severe combined immunodeficiency,SCID)小鼠转移动物模型。方法采用人乳腺癌细胞株MCF-7细胞悬液,分别接种于5只经放射线处理的SCID小鼠腋背部皮下。记录肿瘤生长情况,处死荷瘤鼠并做病理切片,观察各脏器转移情况。结果接种SCID小鼠后6～10d成瘤,成瘤率为5/5只,潜伏期平均(7.4±1.3)d。接种后5只鼠分别于第60～68天拉颈处死,检测荷瘤,平均直径为(26.6±2.2)mm,平均重量为5.28g。病理学检查,转移脏器有3个部位,出现肺转移的为4/5只、骨转移的为3/5只和淋巴结转移的为1/5只。结论建立了人乳腺癌SCID小鼠转移动物模型,该模型可为肿瘤转移研究提供重要的实验工具。     

下调CENP-E对乳腺癌MCF-7细胞的影响

目的:探讨有丝分裂检查点蛋白着丝粒蛋白-E(CENP-E)基因在肿瘤发生发展中的作用。方法:利用shRNA下调CENP-E基因的表达,分别用巢式PCR和Western blot检测CENP-E mRNA和蛋白的表达;MTT检测CENP-E下调后MCF-7细胞的增殖变化;流式细胞术检测CENP-E下调后对MCF-7细胞凋亡的影响;Transwell试验检测MCF-7细胞的迁移和侵袭能力变化;间接免疫荧光检测细胞内CENP-E蛋白和有丝分裂情况。结果:shRNA能有效抑制CENP-E mRNA和蛋白的表达。MTT结果显示CENP-E下调后MCF-7细胞的增殖能力减弱(P<0.05);流式细胞术显示下调CENP-E后能促进MCF-7细胞的凋亡;间接荧光结果显示CENP-E干扰后MCF-7细胞内CENP-E蛋白减少并伴有核分裂异常;Transwell试验显示CENP-E干扰组细胞的迁移和侵袭能力增强(P<0.05)。结论:下调部分CENP-E的表达能抑制MCF-7细胞的增殖,促进MCF-7细胞的凋亡,增强MCF-7细胞的迁移和侵袭能力。     

GAB2提高体外培养的乳腺癌MCF-7细胞迁移能力

GRB2相关结合蛋白（GRB2-associated binding protein 2,GAB2)是Gabs家族重要成员,在细胞增殖、分化及迁移等过程中发挥重要作用。已有研究证明,GAB2与肿瘤侵袭转移相关,但目前GAB2在乳腺癌细胞侵袭中的研究少见报道。本研究证明,GAB2可提高乳腺癌MCF-7细胞迁移能力。Western印迹结果显示,GAB2蛋白在高转移细胞株MDA-MB-231中高表达|相反,在低转移细胞株MCF-7中低表达。瞬时转染结合Western印迹、酶联免疫吸附实验(ELISA)揭示,过表达GAB2明显增加MMP-2及MMP-9蛋白表达。Transwell检测显示,过表达GAB2明显增强MCF-7细胞的迁移能力。与未转染细胞比较,采用10 ng/mL表皮细胞生长因子(EGF)刺激转染细胞5 min,即可明显增强磷酸化的Akt、ARK5表达。上述结果提示,GAB2可通过参与Akt-ARK5信号通路,增加MMP-2、MMP-9蛋白表达,增强肿瘤细胞的迁移能力,这可能是GAB2促进肿瘤侵袭的部分机制。