Amphiregulin regulates proliferation and migration of HER2-positive breast cancer cells.

PURPOSE: Tumor initiation and progression rely on cellular proliferation and migration. Many factors are involved in these processes, including growth factors. Amphiregulin (AREG) is involved in normal mammary development and the development of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. The aim of this project was to determine if AREG is involved in the proliferation and progression of HER2-positive breast cancer. METHODS: Mouse cell lines MMTV-neu, HC-11 and COMMA-D, as well as human cell lines MCF10A, SKBR3, HCC1954 and BT474 were used. Real-time PCR was used to quantify AREG expression and neutralizing antibodies were used to reduce the autocrine/paracrine effects of AREG. Transfections using siRNA and shRNA were used to knockdown AREG expression in the cancer cell lines. Free-floating sphere formation, colony forming, scratch wound and Transwell assays were used to assess the proliferation, tumor forming and migratory capacities of transfected cancer cells. RESULTS: We found AREG expression in both normal epithelial cell lines and tumor-derived cell lines. Knockdown of AREG protein expression resulted in reduced sphere sizes and reduced sphere numbers in both mouse and human cancer cells that overexpress erbB2/HER2. AREG was found to be involved in cancer cell migration and invasion. In addition, we found that AREG expression knockdown resulted in different migration capacities in normal and erbB2/HER2 overexpressing cancer cells. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our results we conclude that AREG is involved in regulating the proliferation and migration of erbB2/HER2-positive breast cancer cells.

Remodeling of tannic acid crosslinked collagen type I induces apoptosis in ER+ breast cancer cells.

BACKGROUND: The naturally-occurring phytochemical tannic acid (TA) has anticancer properties. We have demonstrated that estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer cells are more sensitive to effects of TA than triple-negative breast cancer cells and normal breast epithelial cells. In the present study, cells were grown on TA-crosslinked collagen beads. Growing cells remodel collagen and release TA, which affects attached cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The ER+ breast cancer cell line MCF7 and the normal breast epithelial cell line MCF10A were grown on TA-crosslinked collagen beads in roller bottles. Concentrations of TA in conditioned media were determined. Induced apoptosis was imaged and quantified. Caspase gene expression was calculated by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: Both cell lines attached and grew on TA-crosslinked collagen beads where they remodeled collagen and released TA into surrounding medium. Released TA induced caspase-mediated apoptosis. CONCLUSION: TA induced apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner, with ER+ MCF7 cells displaying more sensitivity to effects of TA.

CYP17 mutation E305G causes isolated 17,20-lyase deficiency by selectively altering substrate binding.

Cytochrome p450c17 (CYP17) converts the C21 steroids pregnenolone and progesterone to the C19 androgen precursors dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and androstenedione, respectively, via sequential 17alpha-hydroxylase and 17,20-lyase reactions. Disabling mutations in CYP17 cause combined 17alpha-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase deficiency, but rare missense mutations cause isolated loss of 17,20-lyase activity by disrupting interactions of redox partner proteins with CYP17. We studied an adolescent male with clinical and biochemical features of isolated 17,20-lyase deficiency, including micropenis, hypospadias, and gynecomastia, who is homozygous for CYP17 mutation E305G, which lies in the active site. When expressed in HEK-293 cells or Saccharomyces cerevisiae, mutation E305G retains 17alpha-hydroxylase activities, converting pregnenolone and progesterone to 17alpha-hydroxysteroids. However, mutation E305G lacks 17,20-lyase activity for the conversion of 17alpha-hydroxypregnenolone to DHEA, which is the dominant pathway to C19 steroids catalyzed by human CYP17 (the delta5-steroid pathway). In contrast, mutation E305G exhibits 11-fold greater catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km) for the cleavage of 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone to androstenedione compared with wild-type CYP17. We conclude that mutation E305G selectively impairs 17,20-lyase activity for DHEA synthesis despite an increased capacity to form androstenedione. Mutation E305G provides genetic evidence that androstenedione formation from 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone via the minor delta4-steroid pathway alone is not sufficient for complete formation of the male phenotype in humans.