Effects of Chronic and Intermittent Calorie Restriction on Adropin Levels in Breast Cancer

Adropin is a peptide hormone that has been implicated in insulin resistance and as a potential regulator of growth. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of calorie restriction on circulating levels of adropin in the MMTV-TGF breast cancer mouse model and investigate the effects of adropin peptide on the viability of MCF-7 and MDA-231 breast cancer cells in culture. Ten-week-old mice were assigned to either ad libitum-fed (AL), chronic calorie-restricted, or intermittent calorie-restricted groups. Concentrations of serum adropin were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results showed an inverse correlation between serum adropin levels and mouse age that was attenuated by calorie restriction. In the AL group the level of adropin was significantly lower at week 50 compared to levels at week 10. However, among the calorie-restricted groups, serum levels of adropin remained high at week 50. The cell-line-specific effects were observed after treatment of cancer cell lines with a series of adropin concentrations (5, 10, 25, 50ng/mL). Flow cytometry analysis showed that MCF-7 cells entered the early phase of apoptosis after treatment with 50ng/mL for 24h. Adropin may be involved in the protective effects that calorie restriction has on breast cancer risk.