This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Leung, C. K. H. Articles by Shiu, R. P. C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Leung, C. K. H. Articles by Shiu, R. P. C.

Required Presence of Both Estrogen and Pituitary Factors for the Growth of Human Breast Cancer Cells in Athymic Nude Mice¹

Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R3E 0W3

Estrogen, prolactin, and other pituitary factors are implicated in the etiology of human breast cancer. In the present study, the effects of estrogen and factors from GH₃ rat pituitary tumor cells on the growth of T-47D human breast cancer cells were tested in athymic nude mice. Four groups of nude mice were used: Group 1 (T) received s.c. injection of T-47D cells only; Group 2 (TE) mice were given injections of estradiol valerate and T-47D cells; Group 3 mice were given injections of T-47D and GH₃ cells (TG), one cell type on each flank; and Group 4 received estradiol valerate and T-47D and GH₃ cells (TEG). We found that the human breast cancer cells, T-47D, did not proliferate in Groups 1 and 3 despite the presence of high circulating levels of prolactin and growth hormone produced by the growing GH₃ pituitary tumors in Group 3. This suggested that prolactin and growth hormone were not sufficient to stimulate the growth of human breast cancer cells. T-47D cells exhibited only moderate growth in Group 2 but proliferated rapidly in Group 4. The T-47D tumors of Group 4 were 8 times larger than those in Group 2 after 42 days of growth. These results demonstrate that the simultaneous presence of estrogen and pituitary growth factors are required for maximal growth of T-47D human breast cancer cells in nude mice. The identity of the pituitary-dependent growth factor(s) that stimulates the growth in vivo of human breast cancer cells remains to be elucidated.

¹ Supported by Medical Research Council of Canada.

² Scholar, Medical Research Council of Canada. To whom requests for reprints should be addressed.

Received 8/18/80. Accepted 10/21/80.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				F E Utama, M J LeBaron, L M Neilson, A S Sultan, A F Parlow, K-U Wagner, and H Rui Human prolactin receptors are insensitive to mouse prolactin: implications for xenotransplant modeling of human breast cancer in mice. J. Endocrinol., March 1, 2006; 188(3): 589 - 601. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. P. Castro, D. Giacomini, A. C. Nagashima, C. Onofri, M. Graciarena, K. Kobayashi, M. Paez-Pereda, U. Renner, G. K. Stalla, and E. Arzt Reduced Expression of the Cytokine Transducer gp130 Inhibits Hormone Secretion, Cell Growth, and Tumor Development of Pituitary Lactosomatotrophic GH3 Cells Endocrinology, February 1, 2003; 144(2): 693 - 700. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. J. Ormandy, R. E. Hall, D. L. Manning, J. F. R. Robertson, R. W. Blamey, P. A. Kelly, R. I. Nicholson, and R. L. Sutherland Coexpression and Cross-Regulation of the Prolactin Receptor and Sex Steroid Hormone Receptors in Breast Cancer J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., November 1, 1997; 82(11): 3692 - 3699. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]