ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cyclin D1 is frequently overexpressed in breast cancer, and its overexpression is, surprisingly, associated with improved survival. One potential mechanism for this association involves signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). METHODS: Cyclin D1 and STAT3 expression were assessed in human tumors using microarray analysis and in breast cancer cell lines HBL100, T47D, MCF7, MDA-MB-453, and BT20 and in HBL100 and T47D cells stably overexpressing cyclin D1 using immunoblot analysis. Cyclin D1 protein was stabilized by treatment with the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib, and the effects on STAT3 expression in vitro was determined by using immunoblotting and on xenograft tumor growth and apoptosis in vivo was determined by using terminal deoxyuridine nick-end labeling assays. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: Tumors with high cyclin D1 expression (n = 17) had low STAT3 expression (mean = 274 arbitrary units), and those with low cyclin D1 expression (n = 31) had high STAT3 expression (mean = 882 arbitrary units) (P<.001). In HBL100 and T47D parental and cyclin D1-overexpressing cells, cyclin D1 overexpression was also inversely associated with STAT3 expression, and cyclin D1 directly reduced the expression of STAT3. Stabilization of cyclin D1 protein by bortezomib treatment further amplified the cyclin D1-dependent repression of STAT3 in vitro and slowed tumor growth in vivo (week 7: untreated mean = 185.7 mm3 versus treated mean = 136.2 mm3, difference = 49.5 mm3, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 18 to 81 mm3, P = .007; week 8: untreated mean = 240.2 mm3 versus treated mean = 157.3 mm3, difference = 82.9 mm3, 95% CI = 9.1 to 156.7 mm3, P = .0014; and week 9: untreated mean = 256.4 mm3 versus treated mean = 170.2 mm3, difference = 86.2 mm3, 95% CI = 22.8 to 149.6 mm3, P = .006) and increased apoptosis (untreated mean = 19% versus treated mean = 54%, difference = 35%, 95% CI = 24.7% to 45.4%; P = .013) of xenograft tumors. CONCLUSIONS: Cyclin D1 repression of STAT3 expression may explain the association between cyclin D1 overexpression and improved outcome in breast cancer. In addition, bortezomib can amplify the proapoptotic function of cyclin D1, raising the possibility that cyclin D1 levels may be a marker for predicting the response to this novel drug.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology , Biomarkers, Tumor/metabolism , Boronic Acids/pharmacology , Breast Neoplasms/drug therapy , Breast Neoplasms/metabolism , Cyclin D1/metabolism , Protease Inhibitors/pharmacology , Pyrazines/pharmacology , STAT3 Transcription Factor/metabolism , Animals , Apoptosis/drug effects , Bortezomib , Calcium/metabolism , Caspase 3 , Caspases/metabolism , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Proliferation , Cyclin D1/drug effects , Female , Fluorescent Antibody Technique , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic/drug effects , Humans , Immunoblotting , In Situ Nick-End Labeling , Mice , Mice, Inbred BALB C , Microarray Analysis , Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex/drug effects , Transplantation, Heterologous , Up-Regulation/drug effects , bcl-X Protein/metabolismABSTRACT
Skp2 is an F-box protein involved in the ubiquitination and subsequent degradation of the cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) inhibitor p27. Skp2 has been reported to be overexpressed in a variety of cancer types and to correlate with poor prognosis. We have identified a novel isoform of Skp2 we named Skp2B, which differs from Skp2 only in the C-terminal domain and unlike Skp2 localizes to the cytoplasm. Here, we describe the relative expression of both Skp2 and Skp2B in breast cancer cell lines and in primary breast cancers using quantitative real time RT-PCR. We show that Skp2B mRNA is expressed 10-fold less than Skp2 mRNA in the immortalized but non-transformed breast cell line, 184B5. However, Skp2B is overexpressed as frequently as Skp2, and to higher levels than Skp2 in breast cancer cell lines and primary cancers. Further, we show that cytoplasmic staining is frequent in primary breast cancers. In addition, we found that xenografts expressing Skp2B grow faster than xenografts expressing low levels of Skp2B, and that this effect is independent of p27 degradation. These findings therefore suggest that Skp2B overexpression is also observed in breast cancers and identify Skp2B as a putative oncogene.
Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms/genetics , Breast Neoplasms/physiopathology , F-Box Proteins/metabolism , Gene Expression Profiling , S-Phase Kinase-Associated Proteins/genetics , Amino Acid Sequence , Animals , Cell Cycle Proteins/metabolism , Cell Survival , Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p27 , Female , Humans , Mice , Mice, Inbred BALB C , Mice, Nude , Molecular Sequence Data , Oncogenes , Protein Isoforms , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , S-Phase Kinase-Associated Proteins/biosynthesis , S-Phase Kinase-Associated Proteins/pharmacology , Transplantation, Heterologous , Tumor Cells, Cultured , Tumor Suppressor Proteins/metabolism , UbiquitinsABSTRACT
The three human D-type cyclins, cyclin D1, D2 and D3 share the ability to bind to and activate cdk4 and 6. MMTV-cyclin D1 transgenic mice develop mainly adenocarcinoma, while MMTV-cyclin D2 mice show a lack of alveologenesis during pregnancy and only develop carcinoma at low frequency. The effect of cyclin D3 overexpression in mammary glands remains hitherto unknown. We generated MMTV-cyclin D3 transgenic mice and report here that they develop exclusively squamous cell carcinoma. We show that although cyclin D3 transgene expression was detected early in puberty, postnatal development and mammary gland proliferation were normal in virgin animals. In contrast, multiparous mice develop multiple foci of abnormal growth that correspond to various stages of squamous metaplasia. Therefore, our results support a role for cyclin D3 in squamous differentiation. In addition, we found that p16 expression during involution is abolished, while p27 expression increased in MMTV-cyclin D3 mice, two modifications that have been reported in the other MMTV-D-type cyclin transgenic models. Our observations indicate that despite biochemical redundancy in vitro and in vivo, D-type cyclins promote distinct oncogenic pathways.
Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/etiology , Cyclins/physiology , Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental/etiology , Mammary Tumor Virus, Mouse , Muscle Proteins , Animals , Cyclin D3 , Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16/analysis , Cyclins/analysis , Female , Mice , Mice, Transgenic , Microfilament Proteins/analysisABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Fenretinide has shown promise in the chemoprevention of breast cancer, a tumor type in which the oncogene cyclin D1 is overexpressed frequently. We aimed at determining the effect of cyclin D1 level on the response to fenretinide treatment. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Stable clones of T47-D cells were created to overexpress cyclin D1 or a mutant of cyclin D1, injected in nude mice for xenograft formation, and the rate of tumor growth and tumor regression determined. RESULTS: We show here that cells overexpressing cyclin D1 are significantly more sensitive to fenretinide than genetically matched cells that express low levels of cyclin D1, and that fenretinide prevents tumor formation arising from cyclin D1-overexpressing cells. Furthermore, we show that fenretinide is also able to promote the regression of cyclin D1-positive tumors. We also show that cells expressing a mutant of cyclin D1 that cannot bind to cdk4 are also more sensitive to fenretinide. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that fenretinide may be particularly useful in the treatment of cyclin D1-positive breast cancers, and that the interaction between cyclin D1 and fenretinide is independent of cyclin D1 binding to cdk4.
