DES causative role in breast cancer through inducing aneuploidy

Do oestrogens induce chromosome specific aneuploidy in vitro, similar to the pattern of aneuploidy seen in breast cancer ?

2008 Study Abstract

The study was concerned with investigating the specific effects of non-DNA reactive oestrogens at low “biologically relevant” doses and the causative role they may play in breast cancer through inducing aneuploidy.

A review of previous studies identified a non-random pattern of aneuploidy seen in breast cancers. This information was used to select those chromosomes that undergo copy number changes in breast cancer and chromosomes that appear stable.

A panel of centromeric specific probes were selected and centromeric specific fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) was carried out on the human lymphoblastoid cell line, AHH-1, which had been pre-treated with the chemical aneugens 17-beta oestradiol, diethylstilbestrol (DES) and bisphenol-A (BP-A).

The results suggest that oestrogens may play a causative role in breast cancer by inducing a specific pattern of aneuploidy similar to that seen in breast carcinomas. 17-beta oestradiol appears to induce changes most similar to those seen in breast tumours, BPA induces the same pattern but at a lower frequency and DES appears to be less chromosome specific in its act.

Sources

DES DIETHYLSTILBESTROL RESOURCES

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