Inhibition of human mammary carcinoma cell proliferation by retinoids and intracellular cAMP-elevating compounds.

Retinoids and cAMP-elevating agents markedly inhibited the proliferation of human mammary tumor cells. Their response has been previously correlated with the presence of estrogen receptor (ER) positivity. MDA-MB-231 cells were ER negative and insensitive to the antiproliferative effects of retinoids. However, their growth was markedly inhibited by agents that elevated intracellular cAMP levels, i.e., 8-bromo-cAMP, cholera toxin (CT), forskolin, and the phosphodiesterase inhibitor papaverine. The CT and forskolin inhibition of the ER-positive cells (MCF-7) was associated with an elevation of adenylate cyclase activity and intracellular cAMP levels; however, similar elevations in intracellular cAMP levels were not observed following CT or forskolin inhibition of MDA-MB-231 cells but only following the addition of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine.

Elevation of adenylate cyclase activity during leukemic cell differentiation.

Exposure of the various human myeloid leukemic cell lines (HL60 and RDFD) to various compounds results in marked differentiation of the cells. This differentiation is associated with a marked increase in both basal and NaF-stimulated adenylate cyclase (AC) activity. The increase in AC activity occurs regardless of the differentiation inducer one has utilized (retinoic acid (RA), dimethyl formamide (DMF), hypoxanthine (HPX) or actinomycin D (actD) and is correlated with this process, as a variant of the HL60 cell (HL60-Blast) that does not differentiate upon exposure to the various inducers does not demonstrate this increase in AC activity. In addition, the differentiation process is associated with a rapid increase in intracellular cAMP within hours of adding the inducer, followed by a gradual decrease.