LXXLL peptide converts transportan 10 to a potent inducer of apoptosis in breast cancer cells

Int J Mol Sci. 2014 Apr 3;15(4):5680-98. doi: 10.3390/ijms15045680.

Abstract

Degenerate expression of transcription coregulator proteins is observed in most human cancers. Therefore, in targeted anti-cancer therapy development, intervention at the level of cancer-specific transcription is of high interest. The steroid receptor coactivator-1 (SRC-1) is highly expressed in breast, endometrial, and prostate cancer. It is present in various transcription complexes, including those containing nuclear hormone receptors. We examined the effects of a peptide that contains the LXXLL-motif of the human SRC-1 nuclear receptor box 1 linked to the cell-penetrating transportan 10 (TP10), hereafter referred to as TP10-SRC1LXXLL, on proliferation and estrogen-mediated transcription of breast cancer cells in vitro. Our data show that TP10-SRC1LXXLL induced dose-dependent cell death of breast cancer cells, and that this effect was not affected by estrogen receptor (ER) status. Surprisingly TP10-SRC1LXXLL severely reduced the viability and proliferation of hormone-unresponsive breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells. In addition, the regulation of the endogenous ERα direct target gene pS2 was not affected by TP10-SRC1LXXLL in estrogen-stimulated MCF-7 cells. Dermal fibroblasts were similarly affected by treatment with higher concentrations of TP10-SRC1LXXLL and this effect was significantly delayed. These results suggest that the TP10-SRC1LXXLL peptide may be an effective drug candidate in the treatment of cancers with minimal therapeutic options, for example ER-negative tumors.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Motifs
  • Apoptosis / drug effects*
  • Breast Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Cell-Penetrating Peptides / genetics*
  • Estrogen Receptor alpha / metabolism
  • Estrogen Receptor beta / metabolism
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / drug effects
  • Humans
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / genetics*
  • MCF-7 Cells
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / genetics*
  • Nuclear Receptor Coactivator 1 / genetics
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / pharmacology*
  • Trefoil Factor-1
  • Tumor Suppressor Proteins / drug effects

Substances

  • CDK5RAP3 protein, human
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • Cell-Penetrating Peptides
  • Estrogen Receptor alpha
  • Estrogen Receptor beta
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • TFF1 protein, human
  • Trefoil Factor-1
  • Tumor Suppressor Proteins
  • transportan-10
  • NCOA1 protein, human
  • Nuclear Receptor Coactivator 1