Progesterone receptor inhibits aromatase and inflammatory response pathways in breast cancer cells via ligand-dependent and ligand-independent mechanisms.

ABSTRACT: Aromatase (product of CYP19 gene), the critical enzyme in estrogen biosynthesis, is up-regulated in 70% of all breast cancers and is highly correlated with cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), the rate-determining enzyme in prostanoid biosynthesis. Expression of COX-2 also is correlated with the oncogene HER-2/neu. The efficacy of current endocrine therapies for breast cancer is predicted only if the tumor contains significant amounts of estrogen receptor. Because the progesterone receptor (PR) is an estrogen-induced target gene, it has been suggested that its presence may serve as an indicator of estrogen receptor functional capacity and the differentiation state of the tumor. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that PR serves a crucial protective role by antagonizing inflammatory respons

SUBMITTER: Hardy DB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2725768 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature