Open Access

ARTICLE

Brief Note: Influence of 2-methoxyestradiol on MCF-7 cells: An improved differential interference contrasting technique and Bcl-2 and Bax protein expression levels

ANNIE JOUBERT^1*, SUMARI MARAIS¹, CHRISTINE MARITZ²

1. Department of Physiology, University of Pretoria, P.O. Box 2034, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa.
2. Department of Biochemistry, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa.
* Address correspondence to: Annie Joubert. E-mail: annie.joubert@up.ac.za

BIOCELL 2009, 33(1), 67-70. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2009.33.067

Abstract

Proteins of the B-cell lymphoma 2 family are crucial for the regulation of apoptosis. B-cell lymphoma 2-associated X is a pro-apoptotic protein, while B-cell lymphoma 2 protein opposes apoptosis. The influence of 1 μM 2-methoxyestradiol was investigated on the expression levels of these two proteins in MCF-7 cells. 2-Methoxyestradiol exposure did not influence B-cell lymphoma 2 protein expression levels after 24 h of exposure. In contrast, B-cell lymphoma 2-associated X protein levels were significantly reduced. An improved differential interference contrasting technique revealed compromised cell density and the presence of a mitotic block in exposed cells. The study proposes that the influence of 2-methoxyestradiol on the expression of these proteins may be time- and cell type dependent and thus not evident during the mitotic block observed. Investigation of the regulation of the B-cell lymphoma 2 family will allow researchers to consider signaling pathways for diseases where apoptosis can potentially be controlled.

---

Keywords

---

Citations