Project description:Hyperactivation of phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K) promotes escape from hormone dependence in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. A significant fraction of breast cancers exhibit de novo or acquired resistance to estrogen deprivation. We used gene expression microarrays to identify genes and pathways that are commonly dysregulated in ER+ cell lines with acquired hormone-independent growth. MCF-7, ZR75-1, MDA-361, and HCC-1428 ER+, estrogen-responsive breast cancer cells were cultured under hormone-depleted conditions (10% DCC-FBS) for several months until sustainable hormone-independent cell populations emerged. Parental and long-term estrogen-deprived (LTED) cells were treated with 10% dextran-coated charcoal-treated fetal bovine serum (DCC-FBS) x 24 hrs prior to RNA harvest for array analysis.
Project description:Hyperactivation of phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K) promotes escape from hormone dependence in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. A significant fraction of breast cancers exhibit de novo or acquired resistance to estrogen deprivation. We used gene expression microarrays to identify genes and pathways that are commonly dysregulated in ER+ cell lines with acquired hormone-independent growth. MCF-7, ZR75-1, MDA-361, and HCC-1428 ER+, estrogen-responsive breast cancer cells were cultured under hormone-depleted conditions (10% DCC-FBS) for several months until sustainable hormone-independent cell populations emerged.
Project description:Adipose stromal cells (ASCs) are the primary source of local estrogens in adipose tissue, aberrant production of which promotes estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer. Here we show that extracellular matrix (ECM) rigidity and cell contractility are two opposing determinants for estrogen output of ASCs. Using synthetic ECMs and elastomeric micropost arrays with tunable rigidity, we find that increasing matrix compliance induces transcription of aromatase, a rate-limiting enzyme in estrogen biosynthesis. This mechanical cue is transduced sequentially by Discoidin Domain Receptor 1 (DDR1), c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK1), and phosphorylated JunB, which binds to and activates two breast cancer-associated aromatase promoters. In contrast, elevated cell contractility due to actin stress fiber formation dampens aromatase transcription. Mechanically stimulated stromal estrogen production enhances estrogen-dependent transcription in ER+ tumor cells and promotes their growth. This novel mechanotransduction pathway underlies communications between ECM, stromal hormone output, and cancer cell growth within the same microenvironment. Total RNA was isolated from primary adipose stromal cells after 2d culture or 3d Collagen gel for 21 hours. Triplicates for each conditioned were analyzed
Project description:Transcriptomics analyses to study the effect of the imidazopyridine X15695 on proliferation of estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast and androgen receptor positive (AR+) prostate cancer cells. The effect of X15695 was analyzed on vehicle or steroid hormone-treated breast and prostate cancer cells.
Project description:Chronic inflammation is a hallmark of the breast cancer tumor microenvironment and is also known to be associated with disease progression and therapeutic response. Interleukin-1 (IL-1) signaling has been widely studied in breast cancer biology; however, the long-term effect of sustained IL-1 exposure on hormone receptor–positive breast cancer cells remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated how chronic IL-1 exposure influences inflammatory response, hormone dependency, and therapeutic sensitivity in ERα+/PR+ breast cancer models, MCF7 and T47D. Chronic IL-1 exposure attenuated response to subsequent acute IL-1 treatment, but the chronically exposed cells remained sensitive to serum deprivation, retained dependence on estrogen or progesterone receptor signaling, and responded robustly to endocrine and chemotherapeutic treatments. Extensive changes in basal gene expression and histone modification revealed that chronic IL-1 exposure alters transcriptional reprogramming and chromatin remodeling. Together, these findings demonstrate that chronic IL-1 signaling drives selective inflammatory response in hormone receptor–positive MCF7 and T47D breast cancer cells. This work underscores the continued therapeutic relevance of hormone receptor–targeted strategies in chronically inflamed tumors and provides insight into how sustained inflammatory stress shapes tumor behavior and gene regulation predicted to promote tumor progression.
Project description:Chronic inflammation is a hallmark of the breast cancer tumor microenvironment and is also known to be associated with disease progression and therapeutic response. Interleukin-1 (IL-1) signaling has been widely studied in breast cancer biology; however, the long-term effect of sustained IL-1 exposure on hormone receptor–positive breast cancer cells remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated how chronic IL-1 exposure influences inflammatory response, hormone dependency, and therapeutic sensitivity in ERα+/PR+ breast cancer models, MCF7 and T47D. Chronic IL-1 exposure attenuated response to subsequent acute IL-1 treatment, but the chronically exposed cells remained sensitive to serum deprivation, retained dependence on estrogen or progesterone receptor signaling, and responded robustly to endocrine and chemotherapeutic treatments. Extensive changes in basal gene expression and histone modification revealed that chronic IL-1 exposure alters transcriptional reprogramming and chromatin remodeling. Together, these findings demonstrate that chronic IL-1 signaling drives selective inflammatory response in hormone receptor–positive MCF7 and T47D breast cancer cells. This work underscores the continued therapeutic relevance of hormone receptor–targeted strategies in chronically inflamed tumors and provides insight into how sustained inflammatory stress shapes tumor behavior and gene regulation predicted to promote tumor progression.
Project description:Estrogen receptor positive breast cancer is the most prevalent form of breast cancer. Although a number of available drugs are highly effective at blocking estrogen mediated receptor activity, thousands of patients die every year from ER positive breast cancers because the disease progresses to a stage at which these drugs are no longer effective. Thus, it is crucial to establish a comprehensive understanding of the biology of the estrogen receptor (ER) in ER:positive breast cancers that progress despite hormone therapy, a gap in knowledge that remains a serious impediment to successful treatment of patients with ER positive breast cancer. A key question that must be answered is how the estrogen receptor retains the capacity to activate transcription in the absence or near absence of estrogen. We have found a partial answer to this question upon investigating the effect of amplification and overexpression of Wolf Hirschhorn Syndrome Candidate 1:Like 1 (WHSC1L1), a gene that is amplified in 15% of breast cancers that codes for a histone:lysine methyltransferase. WHSC1L1 lies in the 8p11:p12 amplicon, a region of gene amplification that is strongly associated with breast cancer. In this study, we performed shRNA knockdown of the catalytically inactive short isoform of WHSC1L1 in SUM44PE breast cancer cells and found that expression of the short isoform of WHSC1L1 is necessary for expression of the estrogen receptor in this highly ER:positive cell line. In addition, we found that the estrogen receptor binds chromatin extensively in the absence of exogenous estrogen, including several actively transcribed canonical ER target genes, indicating that estrogen receptor signaling is active in SUM44 cells in estrogen free conditions. These findings represent a novel model for ER biology in luminal B breast cancers harboring amplification of WHSC1L1 and provide insight into the mechanisms by which ER: positive breast cancers become unresponsive to SERMs or aromatase inhibitors.
Project description:Adipose stromal cells (ASCs) are the primary source of local estrogens in adipose tissue, aberrant production of which promotes estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer. Here we show that extracellular matrix (ECM) rigidity and cell contractility are two opposing determinants for estrogen output of ASCs. Using synthetic ECMs and elastomeric micropost arrays with tunable rigidity, we find that increasing matrix compliance induces transcription of aromatase, a rate-limiting enzyme in estrogen biosynthesis. This mechanical cue is transduced sequentially by Discoidin Domain Receptor 1 (DDR1), c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK1), and phosphorylated JunB, which binds to and activates two breast cancer-associated aromatase promoters. In contrast, elevated cell contractility due to actin stress fiber formation dampens aromatase transcription. Mechanically stimulated stromal estrogen production enhances estrogen-dependent transcription in ER+ tumor cells and promotes their growth. This novel mechanotransduction pathway underlies communications between ECM, stromal hormone output, and cancer cell growth within the same microenvironment.
Project description:A significant fraction of breast cancers exhibit de novo or acquired resistance to estrogen deprivation. To model resistance to aromatase inhibitor (AI) therapy, long-term estrogen-deprived (LTED) derivatives of MCF-7 and HCC-1428 cells were generated through culture for 3 and 7 months under hormone-depleted conditions, respectively. These LTED cells showed sensitivity to the ER downregulator fulvestrant under hormone-depleted conditions, suggesting continued dependence upon ER signaling for hormone-independent growth. To evaluate the role of ER in hormone-independent growth, LTED cells were treated +/- 1 uM fulvestrant x 48 h before RNA was harvested for gene expression analysis. MCF-7/LTED and HCC-1428/LTED cells were treated with 10% DCC-FBS with or without the estrogen receptor antagonist drug fulvestrant for 48 hrs prior to RNA harvest for array analysis. Three replicates per condition.