In Vitro Evaluation of the Effects of Zearalenone and α-Zearalenol on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 Cell Lines of Human Breast Cancer

Background: In the field of human breast cancer, the most recent researches referred to the influence of endogenous estrogen or exposure to environmental estrogen, as risk factors. Zearalenone (ZEN) as a mycotoxin and its derivative α- zearalenol (α-ZOL) are known nonsteroidal estrogenic compounds with potential endocrine disrupting properties.Objectives: The present study was designed to investigate the effects of ZEN and α-ZOL on human breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468.Materials and Methods: Cell lines were treated by low and high doses of ZEN and α-ZOL (0, 1, 30, 62, 125, 250 and 500 ng/ml and 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 62 and 125 μg/ml) for 24 and 48 hours. Then MTT colorimetric assay was used to evaluate the cytotoxicity effect of ZEN and α-ZOL. Furthermore, morphological changes of treated and untreated cell lines were studied under an inverted microscope.Results: The results obtained from the present study demonstrated that both ZEN and α-ZOL enhance the cell viability of MCF-7 especially at low doses (1 - 500 ng/ml) and at a high dose of 125μg/ml after 24 and 48 hours. However, this effect for α-ZOL was somewhat greater than that for ZEN. On the other hand, these estrogenic compounds did not have any effect on the cell viability of MDA-MB-468. No morphological change was observed in treated cells.Conclusions: These results show that ZEN and α-ZOL enhance the rate of cell division in ER positive cells and therefore, exposure to this mycotoxin may increase the risk of breast cancer.

In Vitro Evaluation of the Effects of Zearalenone and α-Zearalenol on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 Cell Lines of Human Breast Cancer Keywords:

Zearalenone , Breast Cancer , MCF-7 , MDA-MB-468