SNAI2 upregulation is associated with an aggressive phenotype in fulvestrant-resistant breast cancer cells and is an indicator of poor response to endocrine therapy in estrogen receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer

Autor: Henrik J. Ditzel, Daniel Elias, Martin Bak, Maria Bibi Lyng, Carla Maria Lourenco Alves
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2018
Předmět:
0301 basic medicine
SNAI2
Fulvestrant/administration & dosage
Estrogen receptor
Metastasis
Cell Proliferation/drug effects
0302 clinical medicine
Snail Family Transcription Factors/genetics
Medicine
Neoplasm Metastasis
Fulvestrant
Estrogen Receptor alpha/genetics
Middle Aged
lcsh:Neoplasms. Tumors. Oncology. Including cancer and carcinogens
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition
Metastatic breast cancer
Gene Expression Regulation
Neoplastic
030220 oncology & carcinogenesis
Antineoplastic Agents
Hormonal/administration & dosage
MCF-7 Cells
Estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer
Female
Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition/drug effects
Research Article
medicine.drug
Endocrine resistance
Adult
Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition
Antineoplastic Agents
Hormonal
Breast Neoplasms
Drug Resistance
Neoplasm/genetics
lcsh:RC254-282
03 medical and health sciences
Breast cancer
Breast Neoplasms/drug therapy
Humans
Cell Proliferation
Aged
business.industry
Estrogen Receptor alpha
Cancer
medicine.disease
Gene Expression Regulation
Neoplastic/genetics
030104 developmental biology
Drug Resistance
Neoplasm
Cancer cell
Cancer research
Snail Family Transcription Factors
business
Tamoxifen
Zdroj: Alves, C M L, Elias, D, Lyng, M B, Bak, M & Ditzel, H 2018, ' SNAI2 upregulation is associated with an aggressive phenotype in fulvestrant-resistant breast cancer cells and is an indicator of poor response to endocrine therapy in estrogen receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer ', Breast Cancer Research, vol. 20, 60 . https://doi.org/10.1186/s13058-018-0988-9
Breast Cancer Research : BCR
Breast Cancer Research, Vol 20, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2018)
Popis: Background Endocrine resistance in estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer is a major clinical problem and is associated with accelerated cancer cell growth, increased motility and acquisition of mesenchymal characteristics. However, the specific molecules and pathways involved in these altered features remain to be detailed, and may be promising therapeutic targets to overcome endocrine resistance. Methods In the present study, we evaluated altered expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) regulators in ER+ breast cancer cell models of tamoxifen or fulvestrant resistance, by gene expression profiling. We investigated the specific role of increased SNAI2 expression in fulvestrant-resistant cells by gene knockdown and treatment with a SNAIL-p53 binding inhibitor, and evaluated the effect on cell growth, migration and expression of EMT markers. Furthermore, we evaluated SNAI2 expression by immunohistochemical analysis in metastatic samples from two cohorts of patients with breast cancer treated with endocrine therapy in the advanced setting. Results SNAI2 was found to be significantly upregulated in all endocrine-resistant cells compared to parental cell lines, while no changes were observed in the expression of other EMT-associated transcription factors. SNAI2 knockdown with specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) converted the mesenchymal-like fulvestrant-resistant cells into an epithelial-like phenotype and reduced cell motility. Furthermore, inhibition of SNAI2 with specific siRNA or a SNAIL-p53 binding inhibitor reduced growth of cells resistant to fulvestrant treatment. Clinical evaluation of SNAI2 expression in two independent cohorts of patients with ER+ metastatic breast cancer treated with endocrine therapy in the advanced setting (N = 86 and N = 67) showed that high SNAI2 expression in the metastasis correlated significantly with shorter progression-free survival on endocrine treatment (p = 0.0003 and p = 0.004). Conclusions Our results suggest that SNAI2 is a key regulator of the aggressive phenotype observed in endocrine-resistant breast cancer cells, an independent prognostic biomarker in ER+ advanced breast cancer treated with endocrine therapy, and may be a promising therapeutic target in combination with endocrine therapies in ER+ metastatic breast cancer exhibiting high SNAI2 levels. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13058-018-0988-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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