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Aromatase overexpression induces malignant changes in estrogen receptor α negative MCF-10A cells

Oncogene volume 32, pages 5233–5240 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

Estrogen is a risk factor of breast cancer. Elevated expression of aromatase (estrogen synthase) in breast tissues increases local estradiol concentrations and is associated with breast cancer development, but the causal relationship between aromatase and breast cancer has not been identified. Accumulating data suggest that both estrogen receptor (ER)-dependent and -independent effects are involved in estrogen carcinogenesis. We established a model by expressing aromatase in ERα− MCF-10A human breast epithelial cells to investigate ERα-independent effects of estrogen in the process of malignant transformation. Overexpression of aromatase significantly increased anchorage-independent growth. Parental- or vector-expressing MCF-10A cells did not form colonies under the same conditions. The anchorage-independent growth of MCF-10Aarom cells can be completely abolished by pre-treatment with the aromatase inhibitor, letrozole. Neither MCF-10Aarom nor MCF-10Avector cells grown in monolayer were affected by short-term exposure to estradiol. Enhanced motility is another characteristic of cellular transformation. Motility of MCF-10Aarom cells was increased, which could be inhibited by letrozole. Increases in stem cell population in breast cancer tissues are associated with tumor recurrence and metastasis. CD44high/CD24low is a stem cell marker. We found that CD24 mRNA levels were reduced in MCF-10Aarom cells compared with those in parental- and vector-transfected cells. By examining individual clones of MCF-10Aarom with various aromatase activities, we found that the CD24 mRNA levels were inversely correlated with aromatase activity. The ability of MCF-10Aarom cells to form mammospheres in the absence of serum was increased. Our results suggest that overexpression of aromatase in MCF-10A cells causes malignant transformation. Estrogen metabolite-mediated genotoxicity and induction of a stem cell/progenitor cell population are possible mechanisms. These studies provide additional evidence for ERα-independent mechanism(s) in estrogen carcinogenesis and implicate superiority of aromatase inhibitors to antiestrogens for breast cancer prevention.

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Acknowledgements

This study is supported by DOD Grants: DOD DAMD17-01-1-0444 and DAMD17-01-1-0445. Human aromatase cDNA plasmid was kindly provided by Dr Shiuan Chen (Beckman Institute at City of Hope, Duarte, CA, USA). Measurement of estrogen metabolites was performed by Dr Cavalieri at the Laboratory of Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases (University of Nebraska Medical Center Omaha, NE, USA).

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  1. Department of Medicine, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    J Wang & W Yue

  2. Department of Pathology, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    J J Gildea

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Correspondence to W Yue.

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Wang, J., Gildea, J. & Yue, W. Aromatase overexpression induces malignant changes in estrogen receptor α negative MCF-10A cells. Oncogene 32, 5233–5240 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/onc.2012.558

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Keywords

  • aromatase
  • MCF-10A
  • estrogen
  • breast cancer
  • stem cell

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