Insights into the Behavior of Triple-Negative MDA-MB-231 Breast Carcinoma Cells Following the Treatment with 17β-Ethinylestradiol and Levonorgestrel

Abstract

Oral contraceptives (OCs) are widely used due to their efficiency in preventing unplanned pregnancies and treating several human illnesses. Despite their medical value, the toxicity of OCs remains a public concern. Previous studies indicate the carcinogenic potential of synthetic sex hormones and their link to the development and progression of hormone-dependent malignancies such as breast cancer. However, little is known about their influence on the evolution of triple-negative breast carcinoma (TNBC), a malignancy defined by the absence of estrogen, progesterone, and HER2 receptors. This study reveals that the active ingredients of modern OCs, 17β-Ethinylestradiol, Levonorgestrel, and their combination induce differential effects in MDA-MB-231 TNBC cells. The most relevant behavioral changes occurred after the 24 h treatment with 17β-Ethinylestradiol, summarized as follows: (i) decreased cell viability (64.32% at 10 µM); (ii) cell roundness and loss of confluence; (iii) apoptotic aspect of cell nuclei (fragmentation, membrane blebbing); and (iv) inhibited cell migration, suggesting a potential anticancer effect. Conversely, Levonorgestrel was generally associated with a proliferative activity. The association of the two OCs exerted similar effects as 17β-Ethinylestradiol but was less effective. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the hormones’ cytotoxic mechanism of action on TNBC cells.

A micropillar array-based microfluidic chip for label-free separation of circulating tumor cells: The best micropillar geometry?

“…CTC isolation has a number of performance characteristics, including capture efficiency, enrichment factor, and cell viability [31] , [32] . To verify that the fabricated chips can selectively separate the CTCs based on their size for different cancer types, we tested the performance of our micro-devices using two cancer cell lines: PC3, a human prostate cancer cell line and a highly invasive [33] , [34] , and MDA-MB-231, a human breast cancer cell line, and highly invasive [35] , [36] . The DAPI-stained MDA-MB-231 cells (10 5 cells/mL) trapped within the rectangle and lozenge devices are shown in Fig.…”

Characterization of Thymoquinone-Sulfobutylether-β-Cyclodextrin Inclusion Complex for Anticancer Applications

“…Moreover, SkBr3 cells highly express human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), making them more sensitive to treatment compared to MCF7 cells, which are ER+, PR+, and HER2− [ 40 ]. In contrast, MDA-MB-231 is a highly invasive, aggressive, and poorly differentiated triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell line due to its lack of expression of ER, PR, and HER2 receptors [ 41 ]. This lack of expressions may explain why MDA-MB-231 cells were less responsive to the TQ/SBE-β-CD treatment compared to other breast cancer cells in this study.…”

Comparative Studies on a Standardized Subfraction of Red Onion Peel Ethanolic Extract (Plant Substance), Quercetin (Pure Compound), and Their Cell Mechanism and Metabolism on MDA-MB-231

“…MDA-MB-231, a poorly differentiated, highly aggressive, and invasive breast cancer cell line, is a model representing triple-negative breast cancer, characterized by the lack of oestrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, E-cadherin, and HER2 growth factor receptor but presenting with mutated p53 gene expression [ 22 , 23 ]. Therefore, MDA-MB-231 cells are the ideal cell model for investigating the effectiveness of newly developed chemotherapeutic agents.…”