The growth of the MDA‐MB‐468, but not the MCF‐7 breast cancer cell line, is inhibited by (‐)‐catechin hydrate

Abstract

Polyphenols are a group of natural antioxidants found in plants. Flavonoids are a subclass of polyphenols that include catechins. Epigallocatechine-3-gallate (EGCG), a type of catechin found in green tea, reduces the inflammation of breast cancer cells. Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide, with an estimated 1.7 million new cases and 0.5 million cancer deaths in 2012. Some studies have suggested that consumption of green tea might play a preventive role in breast carcinogenesis. Multiple studies have investigated the effect of EGCG on the growth of breast cancer cells, but fewer experiments have investigated how exposure to (-)-catechin hydrate can affect the growth of breast cancer cell lines MDA-MB 468 and MCF-7. Here, we determine growth of these cell lines using the 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol -2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. We exposed the cells to 500μM concentration of (-)-catechin hydrate. We measure the percentage of live cells after 24 and 48 hours and compare it to controls. We found that this catechin has a small effect on the growth of both cell lines after 24 hours of 500μM (-)-catechin hydrate exposure, with 87-92% cell growth. After 48 hours, almost no change was observed in MCF-7 cells (86%) but MDA-MB-468 cells growth declined to 40%. While further experiments are needed, our initial findings suggest that (-)-catechin hydrate can affect the growth of triple negative breast cancer cells such as MDA-MB-468 more than the growth of receptor positive cells such as MCF-7. In our future experiments, we will investigate the mechanisms underlying this difference.