Fig. 1
Effect of BD on the normal MCF-10A and breast cancer MCF-7 and MDA-231 cells. a MCF-10A, MCF-7 and MDA-231 cells were seeded and treated with BD (0–50 μg/ml) for 3 days. b, c MCF-7 cells were stripped of steroids for 3 days before seeding by culturing in steroid-free medium. After 24 h seeded into 96-well plates, cells were treated with E2 (10 nM) plus 4-OHT (1 μM), BD (0–50 μg/ml) or combination of 4-OHT and BD for b 3 days and c 6 days, respectively. Cell proliferation was determined by MTT assay. Each bar represents the mean ± SD of triplicate. Similar results were obtained in three independent experiments. Statistical analysis by ANOVA and Holm-Sidak. a * P < 0.05 BD vs control (0 μg/ml) for different cell lines. b, c * P < 0.05 BD vs control (0 μg/ml) in E2 group, # P < 0.05 BD vs control (0 μg/ml) in E2 + 4-OHT group, different letters above bars indicate significant differences P < 0.05 for the same concentration of BD