Potent inhibitory action of red wine polyphenols on human breast cancer cells

Breast cancer (one of the most common malignancy in Western societies), as well as esophagus, stomach, lung, bladder, and prostate cancer, depend on e nvironmental factors and diet for growth and evolution. Dietary micronutrim ents have been proposed as effective inhibitory agents for cancer initiatio n, progression, and incidence. Among them, polyphenols, present in differen t foods and beverages, have retained attention in recent years. Red wine is a rich source of polyphenols, and their antioxidant and tumor arresting ef fects have been demonstrated in different in vitro and in vivo systems. In the present study, we have measured the antiproliferative effect of red win e concentrate, its total polyphenolic pool, and purified catechin, epicatec hin, quercetin, and resveratrol, which account for more than 70% of the tot al polyphenols in red wine, on the proliferation of hormone sensitive (MCF7 , T47D) and resistant (MDA-MB-231) breast cancer cell lines. Our results in dicate that polyphenols, at the picomolar or the nanomolar range, decrease cell proliferation in a dose- and a time-dependant manner. In hormone sensi tive cell lines, a specific interaction of each polyphenol with steroid rec eptors was observed, with IC(50)s lower than previously described. Interact ion of polyphenols with steroid receptors cannot fully explain their inhibi tory effect on cell proliferation: In addition, discrete antioxidant action on each cell line was detected under the same concentrations, both by modi fying the toxic effect of H2O2, and the production of reactive oxygen speci es (ROS), after phorbol ester stimulation. Our results suggest that low con centrations of polyphenols, and consecutively, consumption of wine, or othe r polyphenol-rich foods and beverages, could have a beneficial antiprolifer ative effect on breast cancer cell growth. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.