Resveratrol inhibits human breast cancer cell growth and may mitigate the effect of linoleic acid, a potent breast cancer cell stimulator

Resveratrol is a naturally occurring product found in grapes and wine. The effect of synthetic resveratrol on the growth of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive (KPL-1 and MCF-7) and -negative (MKL-F) human breast cancer cell lines was examined. Resveratrol at low concentrations caused cell proliferation in ER-positive lines (KPL-1, less than or equal to 22 muM; MCF-7, less than or equal to4 muM) whereas at high concentrations (less than or equal to 44 muM) it caused suppression of cell growth in all three cell lines examined. Growth suppression was due to apoptosis as seen by the appearance of a sub-G1 fraction. The apoptosis cascade up-regulated Bax and Bak protein, down-regulated Bcl-x(L) protein, and activated caspase-3. Resveratrol (52-74 muM) antagonized the effect of linoleic acid, a potent breast cancer cell stimulator, and suppressed the growth of both ER-positive and -negative cell lines. Thus, resveratrol could be a promising anticancer agent for both hormone-dependent and hormone-independent breast cancers, and may mitigate the growth stimulatory effect of linoleic acid in the Western-style diet.