MCF-7 is a

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

cell line isolated in 1970 from a 69-year-old woman. MCF-7 is the acronym of Michigan Cancer Foundation-7, referring to the institute in Detroit where the cell line was established in 1973 by Herbert Soule and co-workers. The Michigan Cancer Foundation is now known as the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute. Prior to MCF-7, it was not possible for cancer researchers to obtain a mammary cell line that was capable of living longer than a few months. The patient, Frances Mallon died in 1970 due to metastatic breast cancer. Her cells were the source of much of current knowledge about breast cancer. At the time of sampling, she was a nun in the convent of

Immaculate Heart of Mary The Immaculate Heart of Mary () is a Catholic devotion which refers to the view of the interior life of Mary, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and, above all, her virginal love for God the Father, her maternal love for ...

Monroe, Michigan Monroe is the largest city in Monroe County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 20,462 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the south by Monroe Charter Township, but the two are administered autonomously. M ...

under the name of Sister Catherine Frances. MCF-7 and two other breast cancer cell lines, named T-47D and

MDA-MB-231 Scientists study the behaviour of isolated cells grown in the laboratory for insights into how cells function in the body in health and disease. Experiments using cell culture are used for developing new diagnostic tests and new treatments for dise ...

, account for more than two-thirds of all abstracts reporting studies on mentioned breast cancer cell lines, as concluded from a

Medline MEDLINE (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, or MEDLARS Online) is a bibliographic database of life sciences and biomedical information. It includes bibliographic information for articles from academic journals covering medic ...

-based survey. MCF-7 has potential for new drug development, including anti-cancer drug testing, anti-estrogen drug resistance and antiplatelet drug development.

Characteristics of MCF-7 cells

MCF-7 cells have the following characteristics: *Primary tumor (invasive

breast The breasts are two prominences located on the upper ventral region of the torso among humans and other primates. Both sexes develop breasts from the same embryology, embryological tissues. The relative size and development of the breasts is ...

ductal

carcinoma Carcinoma is a malignancy that develops from epithelial cells. Specifically, a carcinoma is a cancer that begins in a tissue that lines the inner or outer surfaces of the body, and that arises from cells originating in the endodermal, mesoder ...

) *Originate from

pleural effusion A pleural effusion is accumulation of excessive fluid in the pleural space, the potential space that surrounds each lung. Under normal conditions, pleural fluid is secreted by the parietal pleural capillaries at a rate of 0.6 millilitre per kilog ...

Estrogen receptor Estrogen receptors (ERs) are proteins found in cell (biology), cells that function as receptor (biochemistry), receptors for the hormone estrogen (17β-estradiol). There are two main classes of ERs. The first includes the intracellular estrogen ...

s present *Proliferative response to

estrogens Estrogen (also spelled oestrogen in British English; see spelling differences) is a category of sex hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics. There are three ma ...

*Presence of

progesterone receptor The progesterone receptor (PR), also known as NR3C3 or nuclear receptor subfamily 3, group C, member 3, is a protein found inside cells. It is activated by the steroid hormone progesterone. In humans, PR is encoded by a single ''PGR'' gene resi ...

s *Contains 17β-estradiol-binding protein *Cannot have ''

ERBB2 Receptor tyrosine-protein kinase erbB-2 is a protein that normally resides in the membranes of cells and is encoded by the ''ERBB2'' gene. ERBB is abbreviated from erythroblastic oncogene B, a gene originally isolated from the avian genome. The ...

'' gene amplification (with

Her2/neu Receptor tyrosine-protein kinase erbB-2 is a protein that normally resides in the membranes of cells and is encoded by the ''ERBB2'' gene. ERBB is abbreviated from erythroblastic oncogene B, a gene originally isolated from the avian genome. The ...

protein overexpression) *Tumorigenic in mice but only with

estrogen Estrogen (also spelled oestrogen in British English; see spelling differences) is a category of sex hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics. There are three ...

supplementation if engrafted into the subcutaneous fat or mammary fat pad *Tumorigenic in mice without estrogen supplementation if engrafted intraductally *Luminal epithelial phenotype This cell line retained several characteristics of differentiated mammary epithelium, including the ability to process

estradiol Estradiol (E2), also called oestrogen, oestradiol, is an estrogen steroid hormone and the major female sex hormone. It is involved in the regulation of female reproductive cycles such as estrous and menstrual cycles. Estradiol is responsible ...

via cytoplasmic estrogen receptors and the capability of forming domes. Tumor necrosis factor alpha ( TNF alpha) inhibits the growth of MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Treatment with anti-estrogens can modulate the secretion of insulin-like growth factor binding proteins. Omega-3 and 6 fatty acids such as EPA, DHA and AA has been reported to inhibit MCF-7 cell line growth and proliferation. PIK3CA helical mutations were identified in MCF-7, but with low AKT activation. Many studies indicate that the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor is a crucial therapeutic target for treating cancer in MCF-7 cell lines. One notably effective treatment strategy is silencing this receptor using

siRNA Small interfering RNA (siRNA), sometimes known as short interfering RNA or silencing RNA, is a class of double-stranded non-coding RNA molecules, typically 20–24 base pairs in length, similar to microRNA (miRNA), and operating within the RN ...

packaged in nanoparticles, which significantly suppresses the growth and proliferation of MCF-7 cancer cells.

References

External links

The University of Texas MD Anderson Breast Cancer Cell Line Data BaseCellosaurus entry for MCF-7
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcf-7 Human cell lines Breast cancer