17β-estradiol regulates the malignancy of cancer stem-like cells derived from the MCF7 cell line partially through Sox2.

As a major common malignant tumor in women, the malignant behavior of breast cancer, which includes tumorigenesis and metastasis, is associated with estrogen, particularly 17β-estradiol (E2). With accumulating evidence demonstrating that cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) serve a function in the malignant behavior of breast cancer, including metastasis, recurrence and chemoresistance, the effects of E2 on the physiological processes of CSCs have been attracting more attention. In the present study, in order to investigate the effects of E2 on CSCs, CSCs from the MCF7 breast cancer cell line were isolated and treated with 1, 10 and 50 nM E2. Detection of cell proliferation following E2 treatment revealed that 10 nM E2 treatment inhibited cell proliferation, whereas 50 nM E2 treatment resulted in the induction of apoptosis on CSCs. In order to further investigate the effects of E2 treatment on migration, colony formation and the self-renewal capacity of CSCs in vitro, cells were treated with 1 and 10 nM E2. As expected, compared with mock group, the self-renewal capacity of the CSCs was slightly increased by 10 nM E2 treatment, while 1 nM exhibited no observable effect. E2 treatment demonstrated different effects on the proliferation, migration, colony formation and self-renewal capacity of CSCs in a dose-dependent manner.