Effects of indomethacin with or without linoleic acid on human breast cancer cells in vitro.

The effect of indomethacin (INDO) with or without the addition of linoleic acid (LA) was investigated in a cultured MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell line. It was found that INDO without LA suppressed cell growth and thymidine incorporation; however, with the addition of LA, INDO at low concentration promoted these factors, whereas INDO at higher concentrations suppressed them. On the other hand, INDO with or without the addition of LA reduced the secretion of prostaglandin E (PGE). However, INDO at a low concentration (1 microgram/ml) with the addition of LA increased the secretion of leukotriene B (LTB), while INDO without LA had no effect on the secretion of LTB. When the relationship between cell growth and PGE or LTB concentration was investigated, cell growth was associated with the PGE and LTB concentrations when the cells were treated with INDO and LA, whereas it was associated only with the PGE and LTB concentrations when the cells were treated with INDO and LA, whereas it was associated with the PGE concentration when they were treated with INDO alone.