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The effect of physiological concentrations of sex hormones, insulin, and glucagon on growth of breast and prostate cells supplemented with unmodified human serum

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Abstract

The majority of cell culture studies have assessed the effect of hormones on cancer cell growth using media supplemented with charcoal-treated fetal bovine serum (CTS). We aimed to determine whether using a system more reflective of the human condition by changing the charcoal-treated serum to an untreated pooled human serum (PHS) resulted in the same hormone responses in breast and prostate cell lines. MCF-7 breast cancer, MCF-10A non-transformed breast, and LNCaP prostate cancer cell lines supplemented with PHS were treated with high and low physiological concentrations of six hormones (17β-estradiol, dehydroepiandosterone (DHEA), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), testosterone, insulin, and glucagon). Cell growth was measured after 72 h of incubation. All hormones stimulated growth of MCF-7 cells (p < 0.05). MCF-10A cell growth was inhibited by DHEA, DHT, and testosterone (p < 0.05), unaffected by 17β-estradiol and glucagon, and stimulated by insulin (p < 0.05). LNCaP cell growth was stimulated by the highest concentration of DHEA and DHT (p < 0.05) and inhibited by the highest concentration of 17β-estradiol (p < 0.05), while insulin and testosterone, had no effect. Overall, PHS lowered the magnitude of the effect of hormones on cell growth in comparison to CTS. Due to the presence of all serum constituents, our model represents a more appropriate physiological environment for determining the effect of hormones on cancer cell growth. Further studies are required to determine the mechanisms by which added hormones interact with the constituents of untreated human serum.

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Acknowledgments

Source of funding: Dr. David Jenkins’ Canada Research Chair Endowment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    David J. A. Jenkins

  2. Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Centre, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Amin Esfahani, Cyril W. C. Kendall, Balachandran Bashyam & David J. A. Jenkins

  3. Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    David J. A. Jenkins & David J. A. Jenkins

  4. College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, S7N 5C9

    Cyril W. C. Kendall

  5. Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 3E2

    Amin Esfahani, Cyril W. C. Kendall, Balachandran Bashyam, Michael C. Archer & David J. A. Jenkins

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  1. Amin Esfahani
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  2. Cyril W. C. Kendall
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Correspondence to David J. A. Jenkins.

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Editor: J. Denry Sato

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Esfahani, A., Kendall, C.W.C., Bashyam, B. et al. The effect of physiological concentrations of sex hormones, insulin, and glucagon on growth of breast and prostate cells supplemented with unmodified human serum. In Vitro Cell.Dev.Biol.-Animal 46, 856–862 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11626-010-9351-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11626-010-9351-x

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