Expression of Bcl-2 in MCF-7 cells treated with PFOA

Abstract

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), also known as C8, is a man-made chemical that has the ability to repel oil and water. For that reason, it is used to manufacture a number of consumer goods like cookware and clothing. PFOA is an endocrine disruptor as it interferes with normal hormonal processes and proposes a health concern in high concentrations due to its high stability and its persistence in the environment and in our bodies. Previous research in our lab has shown that MCF-7 breast cancer cells treated with 50?M and100?M PFOA for 48h show a 25% decrease in cell viability. A significant decrease in estrogen receptor alpha (ER?) mRNA and protein and the reduction of peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR ?) mRNA levels are thought to be associated with apoptosis in these cells. Experiments using the Caspase-Glo® 3/7 Assay (Promega) were used to determine that MCF-7 decreased viability in response to PFOA is in fact due to apoptosis. It is hypothesized that this PFOA-induced apoptosis may be caused by decreased levels of anti-apoptotic factors such as Bcl-2. We are using the Qiagen® RT2Profiler PCR Apoptosis Array and western blotting to determine the levels of Bcl-2 in control and PFOA-treated MCF-7 cells.