Oxysterols play significant roles in many physiological and pathological processes including cancer. They modulate some of the cancer hallmarks pathways, influence the efficacy of anti-cancer drugs, and associate with patient survival. In this study, we aimed to analyze the role of 7-ketocholesterol (7-KC) in breast carcinoma cells and its potential modulation of the tamoxifen effect. 7-KC effects were studied in two estrogen receptor (ER)-positive (MCF-7 and T47D) and one ER-negative (BT-20) breast cancer cell lines. First, we tested the viability of cells in the presence of 7-KC. Next, we co-incubated cells with tamoxifen and sublethal concentrations of 7-KC. We also tested changes in caspase 3/7 activity, deregulation of the cell cycle, and changes in expression of selected genes/proteins in the presence of tamoxifen, 7-KC, or their combination. Finally, we analyzed the effect of 7-KC on cellular migration and invasion. We found that the presence of 7-KC slightly decreases the efficacy of tamoxifen in MCF-7 cells, while an increased effect of tamoxifen and higher caspase 3/7 activity was observed in the BT-20 cell line. In the T47D cell line, we did not find any modulation of tamoxifen efficacy by the presence of 7-KC. Expression analysis showed the deregulation in CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 with the opposite trend in MCF-7 and BT-20 cells. Moreover, 7-KC increased cellular migration and invasion potential regardless of the ER status. This study shows that 7-KC can modulate tamoxifen efficacy as well as cellular migration and invasion, making 7-KC a promising candidate for future studies.

• Keywords
• 7-ketocholesterol, Breast cancer, Migration, Proliferation, Tamoxifen,
• MeSH
• Drug Resistance, Neoplasm MeSH
• Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal pharmacology   MeSH
• Caspase 3 genetics   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• MCF-7 Cells MeSH
• Cell Line, Tumor MeSH
• Breast Neoplasms * drug therapy   MeSH
• Cell Proliferation MeSH
• Receptors, Estrogen metabolism   MeSH
• Tamoxifen * pharmacology   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• 7-ketocholesterol MeSH Browser
• Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal MeSH
• Caspase 3 MeSH
• Receptors, Estrogen MeSH
• Tamoxifen * MeSH