Combinatory effects of PBDEs and 17β-estradiol on MCF-7 cell proliferation and apoptosis

In the present work,we analyzed whether polybrominated diphenyl ethers (pbdes) (47,99,100 and 209) interfere with the effect of 17β-estradiol on the proliferation and apoptosis of the mcf-7 cell line. mcf-7 cells were cultured in dmem without phenol red supplemented with 5% charcoal-treated fetal bovine serum for 3 days with 10 nm 17β-estradiol; with 0.1 μm,0.5 μm or 1 μm of the tested pbde congeners; or with both 17β-estradiol and a congener. cell proliferation was determined by measuring brdu incorporation,and cell apoptosis was measured by caspase-9 activity. no pbde congener had an effect on basal cell proliferation,but they all significantly decreased basal caspase-9 activity. an additive anti-apoptotic activity and ability to induce cell proliferation was observed in the presence of 17β-estradiol. copyright © 2011 by institute of pharmacology polish academy of sciences.