Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Bisphosphonates decrease telomerase activity and hTERT expression in MCF-7 breast cancer cells.

Luca Dalle Carbonare1, Maria Teresa Valenti, Giuseppe Azzarello

  • 1Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Clinica Medica I, University of Padova, Italy. luca.dallecarbonare@unipd.it

Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology
|June 28, 2005
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Bone Marrow Edema in Rheumatic Diseases: Incidence, Diagnosis, and Therapeutic Implications. A Narrative Review.

La Clinica terapeutica·2026
Same author

Exercise reveals precocious-subclinical cardiovascular and muscular dysfunction in transfusion dependent beta-thalassemia (TDT) patients without cardiac iron overload.

Journal of translational medicine·2026
Same author

Regulation of Tau Alternative Splicing: A Novel Role for the Ribonucleoprotein RBM20.

International journal of molecular sciences·2026
Same author

Epicardial and Visceral Adipose Tissue and Global Longitudinal Strain: A Review of Cardiac Imaging Insights in Subclinical Myocardial Dysfunction.

Nutrients·2026
Same author

Chemoimmunotherapy Combinations in Elderly Patients with Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and PD-L1 Expression < 50%: Results from an Italian Real-World Study.

Journal of clinical medicine·2026
Same author

Rivaroxaban treatment discontinuation rates in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation in Italian clinical practice: RITMUS-AF.

PloS one·2026

Amino-bisphosphonates like alendronate and pamidronate inhibit breast cancer cell viability and proliferation. These drugs also increase apoptosis and decrease human telomerase reverse transcriptase (h-TERT) expression and activity.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Pharmacology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Bisphosphonates are crucial for managing bone metastases in cancer patients.
  • Emerging evidence suggests bisphosphonates may also impact primary tumor growth.
  • Telomerase, an enzyme crucial for telomere maintenance, is often upregulated in various cancers.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the direct impact of clodronate, alendronate, and pamidronate on the MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line.
  • To assess the effects of these bisphosphonates on cancer cell viability, proliferation, and apoptosis.
  • To evaluate the influence of bisphosphonates on human telomerase reverse transcriptase (h-TERT) expression and telomerase activity.

Main Methods:

  • Treatment of MCF-7 cells with varying concentrations (10^-6 to 10^-4 M) of clodronate, alendronate, and pamidronate.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Assessment of cell viability and proliferation using standard assays.
  • Induction of apoptosis was measured.
  • Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to analyze h-TERT gene expression.
  • Telomerase activity was measured.

    • Main Results:

    • Alendronate and pamidronate significantly reduced MCF-7 cell viability by 63% and 35%, respectively (p < 0.0001).
    • These amino-bisphosphonates also inhibited cancer cell proliferation and significantly increased apoptosis.
    • Clodronate demonstrated no significant effect on viability or proliferation.
    • Both alendronate and pamidronate markedly decreased h-TERT expression and telomerase activity compared to control and clodronate-treated cells.

    Conclusions:

    • Amino-bisphosphonates, specifically alendronate and pamidronate, exhibit direct anti-cancer effects on human breast cancer cells.
    • These drugs effectively reduce cancer cell viability, proliferation, and induce apoptosis.
    • The observed reduction in telomerase expression and activity by amino-bisphosphonates suggests a potential mechanism for their anti-tumor effects.