Effect of Estrogen on Heteronemin-Induced Anti-proliferative Effect in Breast Cancer Cells With Different Estrogen Receptor Status

Yu-Chen S H Yang; Zi-Lin Li; Tung-Yung Huang; Kuan-Wei Su; Chi-Yu Lin; Chi-Hung Huang; Han-Yu Chen; Mei-Chin Lu; Haw-Ming Huang; Sheng-Yang Lee; Jaqueline Whang-Peng; Hung-Yun Lin; Paul J Davis; Kuan Wang

doi:10.3389/fcell.2021.688607

Effect of Estrogen on Heteronemin-Induced Anti-proliferative Effect in Breast Cancer Cells With Different Estrogen Receptor Status

Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 Jul 26:9:688607. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.688607. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Yu-Chen S H Yang¹, Zi-Lin Li^{2

3}, Tung-Yung Huang^{2

3}, Kuan-Wei Su⁴, Chi-Yu Lin⁵, Chi-Hung Huang⁶, Han-Yu Chen^{2

3}, Mei-Chin Lu^{7

8}, Haw-Ming Huang⁵, Sheng-Yang Lee^{5

9

10}, Jaqueline Whang-Peng^{3

11}, Hung-Yun Lin^{3

11

12

13

14}, Paul J Davis^{14

15}, Kuan Wang²

Affiliations

¹ Joint Biobank, Office of Human Research, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
² Graduate Institute of Nanomedicine and Medical Engineering, College of Medical Engineering, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
³ Graduate Institute of Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁴ Department of Dentistry, Hsinchu MacKay Memorial Hospital, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
⁵ School of Dentistry, College of Oral Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁶ Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Cathay General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁷ National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Pingtung, Taiwan.
⁸ Graduate Institute of Marine Biology, National Dong Hwa University, Pingtung, Taiwan.
⁹ Center for Tooth Bank and Dental Stem Cell Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹⁰ Department of Dentistry, Wan-Fang Medical Center, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹¹ Cancer Center, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹² TMU Research Center of Cancer Translational Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹³ Traditional Herbal Medicine Research Center of Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹⁴ Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Rensselaer, NY, United States.
¹⁵ Department of Medicine, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, United States.

Abstract

Estrogen (E₂) has multiple functions in breast cancers including stimulating cancer growth and interfering with chemotherapeutic efficacy. Heteronemin, a marine sesterterpenoid-type natural product, has cytotoxicity on cancer cells. Breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, were used for investigating mechanisms involved in inhibitory effect of E₂ on heteronemin-induced anti-proliferation in breast cancer cells with different estrogen receptor (ER) status. Cytotoxicity was detected by cell proliferation assay and flow cytometry, gene expressions were determined by qPCR, mechanisms were investigated by Western blot and Mitochondrial ROS assay. Heteronemin exhibited potent cytotoxic effects against both ER-positive and ER-negative breast cancer cells. E₂ stimulated cell growth in ER-positive breast cancer cells. Heteronemin induced anti-proliferation via suppressing activation of ERK1/2 and STAT3. Heteronemin suppressed E₂-induced proliferation in both breast cancer cells although some gene expressions and anti-proliferative effects were inhibited in the presence of E₂ in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells with a higher concentration of heteronemin. Heteromenin decreased the Bcl-2/Bax ratio to inhibit proliferation in MDA-MB-231 but not in MCF-7 cells. Both heteronemin and E₂ increased mitochondrial reactive oxygen species but combined treatment reversed superoxide dismutase (SOD)s accumulation in MCF-7 cells. Heteronemin caused G₀/G₁ phase arrest and reduced the percentage of cells in the S phase to suppress cancer cell growth. In conclusion, Heteronemin suppressed both ER-positive and ER-negative breast cancer cell proliferation. Interactions between E₂ and heteronemin in signal transduction, gene expressions, and biological activities provide insights into the complex pathways by which anti-proliferation is induced by heteronemin in E₂-replete environments.

Keywords: anti-proliferation; breast cancer; estrogen; estrogen receptor status; heteronemin; mitochondrial ROS.