Vitamin B6 Decreases Proliferation and DNA Synthesis in Human Mammary Carcinoma Cell Lines In Vitro

The growth of many breast cancers is stimulated by the action of the hormone estrogen. Hormonal therapy used to treat these estrogen-dependent breast cancers acts by interfering with the action of estrogen. Current treatments, such as tamoxifen, are not consistently useful due to development of resistance to these drugs. Tamoxifen treatment can also lead to the development of other gynecological cancers, therefore the discovery of novel treatment options for breast cancer is critical. Vitamin B6 is well documented for its role as a modulator of steroid hormones. Pyridoxal phosphate (PLP), the active form of Vitamin B6, may interfere with the action of the estrogen receptor (ER) by blocking the hormone-binding and/or DNA-binding site of the ER. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of Vitamin B6 supplementation on cell proliferation and estrogen-dependent gene expression in breast cancer cells. To accomplish this, estrogen-dependent (MCF-7 and T-47D) and estrogen-independent (BT-20) breast cancer cells were grown in medium supplemented with 0,100, or 300 µM pyridoxal (PL) in the absence or presence of 0.01µM estradiol. Cell counts and [3H]-thymidine incorporation into DNA were assessed in all cell lines. The expression of pS2, an estrogen-sensitive gene, was performed using RNA extracted from MCF-7 cells. PL supplementation was found to significantly decrease total cell numbers and DNA synthesis in both the estrogen-dependent (ER+) and -independent (ER-) breast cancer cells, but did not alter the expression of pS2. These results indicate that PL significantly impairs growth of breast cancer cells and may be exerting its effects via a steroid-independent mechanism.