BC-ER cells showed lower Bcl-2 expression and higher Bax expression
than BC-V cells in the presence of E2 We investigated the mechanism of the resistance of BC-ER cells to chemotherapeutic agents. Western blot was performed to determine the protein expression of Bcl-2 and Bax in BC-ER and BC-V cells in the presence or absence of E2. In contrast to the effect of E2 on Bcl-2 expression in T47D cells, treatment with E2 for 12 days decreased the expression level of Bcl-2 significantly. BC-ER cells had lower Bcl-2 expression than BC-V A-1210477 purchase cells when treated with E2 for 12 days. Low Bax expression levels were detected in both BC-ER and BC-V cells; however, treatment with E2 induced an increase of Bax expression in BC-ER cells (Figure 5). Figure 5 Bcl-2 and Bax protein expression in BC-ER and BC-V cells.
BC-ER cells showed lower Bcl-2 expression and higher Bax expression than BC-V cells in the presence of E2 (western blot). Treatment of BC-ER cells with E2 for 12 days downregulated Bcl-2 and upregulated the Bax expression. BC-ER cells showed a lower Bcl-2/Bax ratio than BC-V MCC950 molecular weight cells in the presence of E2, which did not contribute much to greater resistance of BC-ER cells than BC-V cells. BC-ER cells grew more slowly than BC-V cells in the presence of E2 Since the Bcl-2/Bax apoptotic pathway did not contribute to the chemoresistance of BC-ER cells, we investigated the role of cell growth rate in the development of chemoresistance in BC-ER cells. In contrast to the effect of E2 on T47D cells, E2 treatment for 16 hours increased the percentage of BC-ER cells in the G1 phase and decreased the percentage of cells in the S and G2/M phases. E2 treatment for 12 days led to a marked accumulation of cells in the G1 phase. E2 treatment had no obvious influence on cell cycle distribution of BC-V cells. The percentages of BC-ER cells in the Inositol monophosphatase 1 S and G2/M phases were significantly lower than those of BC-V cells. E2 inhibited the proliferation of BC-ER cells as demonstrated by the growth curve. However, the growth of BC-V cells was not influenced by E2 treatment (Figure 6). In the presence of E2, BC-ER cells had lower growth potential
than BC-V cells, which may have induced the resistance of BC-ER cells to chemotherapeutic agents. Figure 6 BC-ER cells grew more slowly than BC-V cells in the presence of E2. (A, B) Cell cycle status of the BC-ER and BC-V cells. (A) Cells were treated with E2 for 16 hours before being analyzed by flow cytometry. (B) Cells were treated with E2 for 12 days. (C) The growth curve of the BC-ER and BC-V cells was plotted for 6 days of cell culture. Discussion Several studies have reported the relationship between ERα and resistance to chemotherapeutic agents in breast cancer cells [2, 10–14]. Most papers have reported the activation of ERα by E2 upregulated expression of Bcl-2, which leads to resistance to chemotherapeutic agents in breast cancer cells.