Abstract
The activated transcription factor ERα plays an important role in the breast development and progression of cancer. In a non-classical pathway ER interacts with other transcription factors AP-1, NFkB, SP1, etc. AP-1 transcription factors control rapid responses of mammalian cells to stimuli that impact proliferation, differentiation, and transformation. AP-1 factors are leucine zipper proteins belonging to members of the Jun family (c-Jun, JunB, and JunD) and Fos family (c-Fos, FosB, Fra-1, and Fra-2) proteins. Although AP-1 factors are well characterized, not much is known about the expression pattern of the AP-1 factors in breast cancer cells. Hence to determine which AP-1 factors are expressed and regulated by estrogen, we used human breast cancer MCF-7 cells as in vitro model system. The MCF-7 cells were treated with or without estradiol-17β (E2) or antiestrogen tamoxifen (TMX) and the cell proliferation and viability was assessed by MTT assay. The expression of different AP-1 factors was analyzed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. The cells treated with E2 found to increase the cell proliferation by more than 35 % and TMX an antiestrogen decreased by 29 % compared to control. The E2 found to induce the expression of c-Jun, Fra-1, and c-Fos, while TMX decreased the expression. In addition TMX also decreased the mRNA levels of Jun-D and Fra-2. These results suggest that the AP-1 factors c-Jun, c-Fos, and Fra-1 may be involved in the proliferation and transformation of MCF-7 cells. E2 also found to induce cyclin D1 and cyclin E1 mRNA transcripts of cell cycle regulators while TMX significantly decreased compared to control. Further E2 induced the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and TMX decreased mRNA transcripts. The data presented here support the E2-ERα-mediated MCF-7 cell proliferation and confirms the role of AP-1 factors in cell cycle regulation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Yang SH, Liu R, Perez EJ, Wen Y, Stevens SM Jr, Valencia T, Brun-Zinkernagel AM, Prokai L, Will Y, Dykens J, Koulen P, Simpkins JW (2004) Mitochondrial localization of estrogen receptor. Proc Natl Acad Sci 101:4130–4135
Osborne CK, Zhao H, Suzanne A, Fuqua W (2000) Selective estrogen receptor modulators: structure, function, and clinical use. J Clin Oncol 18:3172–3186
Kushner PJ, Agard DA, Greene GL, Scanlan TS, Shiau AK, Uht RM, Webb P (2000) Estrogen receptor pathways to AP-1. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 74:311–317
Saville B, Wormke M, Wang F, Nguyen T, Enmark E, Kuiper G, Gustafsson JA, Safe S (2000) Ligand, cell, and estrogen receptor subtype (alpha/beta)-dependent activation at GC-rich (Sp1) promoter elements. J Biol Chem 275:5379–5387
Liu Y, Ludes-Meyers J, Zhang Y, Munoz-Medellin D, Kim HT, Lu C, Ge G, Schiff R, Hilsenbeck SG, Osborne CK, Brown PH (2002) Inhibition of AP-1 transcription factor causes blockade of multiple signal transduction pathways and inhibits breast cancer growth. Oncogene 21:7680–7689
Eferl R, Wagner EF (2003) AP-1: a double-edged sword in tumorigenesis. Nat Rev Cancer 3:859–868
Shaulian E, Karin M (2002) AP-1 as a regulator of cell life and death. Nat Cell Biol 4:E131–E136
Shaulian E (2010) AP-1—the Jun proteins: oncogenes or tumor suppressors in disguise? Cell Signal 22:894–899
Sharma SC, Richards JS (2000) Regulation of AP1 (Jun/Fos) factor expression and activation in ovarian granulosa cells. Relation of JunD and Fra2 to terminal differentiation. J Biol Chem 275:33718–33728
Karin M (1995) The Regulation of AP-1 Activity by mitogen-activated protein kinases. J Biol Chem 270:16483–16486
Carlone DL, Richards JS (1997) Functional interactions, phosphorylation, and levels of 3′,5′-cyclic adenosine monophosphate-regulatory element binding protein and steroidogenic factor-1 mediate hormone-regulated and constitutive expression of aromatase in gonadal cells. Mol Endocrinol 11:292–304
Chinenov Y, Kerppola TK (2001) Close encounters of many kinds: fos-Jun interactions that mediate transcription regulatory specificity. Oncogene 20:2438–2452
Pei L, Dodson R, Schoderbek WE, Maurer RA, Mayo KE (1991) Regulation of the alpha inhibin gene by cyclic adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate after transfection into rat granulosa cells. Mol Endocrinol 5:521–534
Mukherjee A, Park-Sarge OK, Mayo KE (1996) Gonadotropins induce rapid phosphorylation of the 3′,5′-cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element binding protein in ovarian granulosa cells. Endocrinology 137:3234–3245
Herdegen T, Leah JD (1998) Inducible and constitutive transcription factors in the mammalian nervous system: control of gene expression by Jun, Fos and Krox, and CREB/ATF proteins. Brain Res Rev 28:370–490
Milde-Langosch K, Kappes H, Riethdorf S, Loning T, Bamberger AM (2003) FosB is highly expressed in normal mammary epithelia, but down-regulated in poorly differentiated breast carcinomas. Breast Cancer Res Treat 77:265–275
Liu Y, Lu C, Shen Q, Munoz-Medellin D, Kim H, Brown PH (2004) AP-1 blockade in breast cancer cells causes cell cycle arrest by suppressing G1 cyclin expression and reducing cyclin-dependent kinase activity. Oncogene 23:8238–8246
Smith LM, Wise SC, Hendricks DT, Sabichi AL, Bos T, Reddy P, Brown PH, Birrer MJ (1999) cJun overexpression in MCF-7 breast cancer cells produces a tumorigenic, invasive and hormone resistant phenotype. Oncogene 18:6063–6070
Shen Q, Uray IP, Li Y, Krisko TI, Strecker TE, Kim HT, Brown PH (2008) The AP-1 transcription factor regulates breast cancer cell growth via cyclins and E2F factors. Oncogene 27:366–377
Periyakaruppan A, Kumar F, Sarkar S, Sharma SC, Ramesh GT (2007) Uranium induces oxidative stress in lung epithelial cells. Arch Toxicol 81:389–395
Sharma SC, Clemens JW, Pisarska MD, Richards JS (1999) Expression and function of estrogen receptor subtypes in granulosa cells: regulation by estradiol and forskolin. Endocrinology. 140:4320–4334
Bernard K, Cambiaggi A, Guia S, Bertucci F, Granjeaud S, Tagett R, Guyen CN, B Jordan BR, Vivier ENK (1999) Cell Line Regulates AP-1 Expression in the NKL Human Engagement of Natural Cytotoxicity Programs. J Immunol 162:4062–4068
Bundred NJ (2001) Prognostic and predictive factors in breast cancer. Cancer Treat Rev 27:137–142
Huber C, Bouchardy C, Schaffar R, Neyroud-Caspar I, Vlastos G, Le Gal FA, Rapiti E, Benhamou S (2012) Antiestrogen Therapy for Breast Cancer Modifies the Risk of Subsequent Cutaneous Melanoma. Cancer Prev Res 5:82–88
Egawa C, Miyoshi Y, Iwao K, Shiba E, Noguchi S (2001) Quantitative analysis of estrogen receptor-alpha and -beta messenger RNA expression in normal and malignant thyroid tissues by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Oncology 61:293–298
Roger P, Sahla ME, Mäkelä S, Gustafsson JA, Baldet P, Rochefort H (2001) Decreased expression of estrogen receptor beta protein in proliferative preinvasive mammary tumors. Cancer Res 61:2537–2541
Oosterkamp HM, Bernards R (2004) Androgen receptors and estrogen receptors. La Thangue, N.B, Bandara, L.R (ed) Targets of cancer chemotherapy: Transcription factors and other nuclear protiens. Human Press., Totowa, NJ pp 315-331
Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group (1998) Tamoxifen for early breast cancer: an overview of the randomised trials. Lancet 351:1451–1467
Kushner PJ, Agard DA, Greene GL, Scanlan TS, Shiau AK, Uht RM, Webb P (2000) Estrogen receptor pathways to AP-1. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 74:311–317
Miner JN, Diamond MI, Yamamoto KR (1991) Joints in the regulatory lattice: composite regulation by steroid receptor-AP1 complexes. Cell Growth Differ 2:525–530
Pfahl M (1993) Nuclear receptor/AP-1 interaction. Endocr Rev 14:651–658
Ponta H, Cato AC, Herrlich P (1992) Interference of pathway specific transcription factors. Biochim Biophys Acta 1129:255–261
Philips A, Chalbos D, Rochefort H (1993) Estradiol increases and anti-estrogens antagonize the growth factor-induced activator protein-1 activity in MCF7 breast cancer cells without affecting c-fos and c-jun synthesis. J Biol Chem 268:14103–14108
Webb P, Lopez GN, Uht RM, Kushner PJ (1995) Tamoxifen activation of the estrogen receptor/AP-1 pathway: potential origin for the cell-specific estrogen-like effects of antiestrogens. Mol Endocrinol 9:443–456
Yang-Yen HF, Zhang XK, Graupner G, Tzukerman M, Sakamoto B, Karin M, Pfahl M (1991) Antagonism between retinoic acid receptors and AP-1: implications for tumor promotion and inflammation. New Biol 3:1206–1219
Teyssier C, Belguise K, Galtier F, Chalbos D (2001) Characterization of the physical interaction between estrogen receptor alpha and JUN proteins. J Biol Chem 276:36361–36369
Webb P, Nguyen P, Valentine C, Lopez GN, Kwok GR, McInerney E, Katzenellenbogen BS, Enmark E, Gustafsson JA, Nilsson S, Kushner PJ (1999) The estrogen receptor enhances AP-1 activity by two distinct mechanisms with different requirements for receptor transactivation functions. Mol Endocrinol 13:1672–1685
Lee SK, Kim HJ, Na SY, Kim TS, Choi HS, Im SY, Lee JW (1998) Steroid receptor coactivator-1 coactivates activating protein-1-mediated transactivations through interaction with the c-Jun and c-Fos subunits. J Biol Chem 273:16651–16654
Jakacka M, Ito M, Weiss J, Chien PY, Gehm BD, Jameson JL (2001) Estrogen receptor binding to DNA is not required for its activity through the nonclassical AP1 pathway. J Biol Chem 276:13615–13621
Lamb J, Ladha MH, McMahon C, Sutherland RL, Ewen ME (2000) Regulation of the Functional Interaction between Cyclin D1and the Estrogen Receptor. Mol Cell Biol 20:8667–8675
Awasthi S, Daverey A, Dwivedi A (2007) Modulation of AP-1 mediated estrogenic response by ormeloxifene in rat uterus. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 104:208–214
Milde-Langosch K, Kappes H, Riethdorf S, Löning T, Bamberger AM (2003) FosB is highly expressed in normal mammary epithelia, but down-regulated in poorly differentiated breast carcinomas. Breast Cancer Res Treat 77:265–275
Heximer SP, Cristillo AD, Russell L, Forsdyke DR (1996) Sequence analysis and expression in cultured lymphocytes of the human FOSB gene (GOS3). DNA Cell Biol 15:1025–1038
Karin M, Liu Z-G, Zandi E (1997) AP-1 function and regulation. Curr Opin Cell Biol 9:240–246
Ransone LJ, Visvader J, Lamph WW, Sassone-Corsi P, Verma IM (1989) Fos and Jun interaction: the role of the leucine zipper. Int J Cancer 4:10–21
Milde-Langosch K, Janke S, Wagner I, Schroder C, Streichert T, Bamberger AM, Janicke F, Loning T (2008) Role of Fra-2 in breast cancer: influence on tumor cell invasion and motility. Breast Cancer Res Treat 107:337–347
Verdier-Sevrain S, Yaar M, Cantatore J, Traish A, Gilchrest BA (2004) Estradiol induces proliferation of keratinocytes via a receptor mediated mechanism. FASEB J 18:1252–1254
Stender JD, Frasor J, Komm B, Chang KC, Kraus WL, Katzenellenbogen BS (2007) Estrogen-regulated gene networks in human breast cancer cells: involvement of E2F1 in the regulation of cell proliferation. Mol Endocrinol 21:2112–2123
Wang A, Schneider-Broussard R, Kumar AP, MacLeod MC, Johnson DG (2000) Regulation of BRCA1 expression by the Rb-E2F pathway. J Biol Chem 275:4532–4536
Perillo B, Sasso A, Abbondanza C, Palumbo G (2000) 17b-Estradiol Inhibits Apoptosis in MCF-7 Cells, Inducing bcl-2 Expression via Two Estrogen-Responsive Elements in the Coding Sequence. Mol Cell Biol 20:2890–2901
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to express their gratitude to University Grant Commission (UGC), New Delhi for providing fellowship to BRL and Major Research Project Grant F. No. 34-250/2008 (SR) to SCS. Authors also thank Dr. M.C. Gayathri, Department of Molecular Biology, Bangalore University for extending to use her lab facilities.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Babu, R.L., Naveen Kumar, M., Patil, R.H. et al. Effect of estrogen and tamoxifen on the expression pattern of AP-1 factors in MCF-7 cells: role of c-Jun, c-Fos, and Fra-1 in cell cycle regulation. Mol Cell Biochem 380, 143–151 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-013-1667-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-013-1667-x