Systematic characterization of zinc in a series of breast cancer cell lines reveals significant changes in zinc homeostasis.

An optimal amount of labile zinc (Zn ) is essential for proliferation of human cells, where Zn levels that are too high or too low cause cell cycle exit. Tumors of the breast have been characterized by high levels of total Zn . Given the role of Zn in proliferation of human cells and elevation of zinc in breast cancer tumors, we examined the concentration of total and labile Zn across a panel of 5 breast cancer cell lines, compared to the normal MCF10A cell line.