Effect of hormonal manipulation and doxorubicin administration on cell cycle kinetics of human breast cancer cells.

Dual-parameter flow cytometry, following bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd) incorporation and propidium iodide (PI) uptake into DNA, was used to study the effects of oestradiol and/or insulin on cell cycle kinetics of human breast cancer cells in vitro. After a lag-period of 6-12 h, an optimum in the percentage of S-phase cells was reached between 18 and 24 h after hormone administration. A 1 h pulse of oestradiol was as effective as the continuous presence of oestradiol in pushing the cells from quiescent growing cultures into the cell cycle. A 1 h pulse of insulin was less effective than continuous administration. The addition of doxorubicin resulted in an accumulation of the cells in the late S/G2M-phases. It is concluded that dual-parameter flow cytometry allows accurate assessment of the effects of hormones and chemotherapy on the cell cycle. Therefore this method is very suitable for studying the interaction of hormones and chemotherapy on cell growth.