MCF-7: the first hormone-responsive breast cancer cell line.

On Thursday,January2, 1997, Dr. HerbertSoule, the scientist who developed the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line, died. At the time, we were in the process of writingthis tributeto markthe 25th anniversary of Dr. Soule's remarkableaccomplishment.The cells, derived from a breast cancer patient in the Detroit area and developed at the Michigan CancerFoundation,Detroit,became a standardmodel in hundredsof laboratories around the world. In retrospect, the story of the diverse uses of these cells is really the history of our developing knowledge of hormone-regulatedcell replication, and they provided a unique insight into the endocrine therapyof breastcancer. Our article is offered as a tributeand memorial to Dr. Soule. We will trace researchwith MCF-7 cells to illustratethe change in our ideas about cell replication and to highlight the advances in our understanding of the signal transduction pathway of estrogen and the molecular biology of estrogen action. All of these advances depended on the uniquepropertiesof MCF-7 cells. Additionally,it is important to appreciate that the cell system has now found applications in experimental therapeutics, and the results from these studies are being translated to the clinic for the treatment of patients. None of this would have been possible withoutDr. Soule's skill as a cell biologist.