Fatty Acid Synthase Confers Tamoxifen Resistance to ER+/HER2+ Breast Cancer

The identification of clinically important molecular mechanisms driving endocrine resistance is a priority in estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer. Although both genomic and non-genomic cross-talk between the ER and growth factor receptors such as human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Menéndez Menéndez, Javier Abel, Papadimitropoulou, Adriana, Van der Steen, Travis, Cuyàs, Elisabet, Oza-Gajera, Bharvi P., Verdura, Sara, Espinoza, Ingrid, Vellon, Luciano, Mehmi, Inderjit, Lupu, Ruth
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:10256/20792
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10256/20792
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Mama -- Càncer -- Tractament
Breast -- Cancer -- Treatment
Mama -- Càncer -- Aspectes endocrins
Breast -- Cancer -- Endocrine aspects
Estrògens -- Receptors
Estrogen -- Receptors
Tamoxifèn
Tamoxifen
Medicaments antineoplàstics
Antineoplastic agents
Descripción
Sumario:The identification of clinically important molecular mechanisms driving endocrine resistance is a priority in estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer. Although both genomic and non-genomic cross-talk between the ER and growth factor receptors such as human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) has frequently been associated with both experimental and clinical endocrine therapy resistance, combined targeting of ER and HER2 has failed to improve overall survival in endocrine non-responsive disease. Herein, we questioned the role of fatty acid synthase (FASN), a lipogenic enzyme linked to HER2-driven breast cancer aggressiveness, in the development and maintenance of hormone-independent growth and resistance to anti-estrogens in ER/HER2-positive (ER+/HER2+) breast cancer. The stimulatory effects of estradiol on FASN gene promoter activity and protein expression were blunted by anti-estrogens in endocrine-responsive breast cancer cells. Conversely, an AKT/MAPK-related constitutive hyperactivation of FASN gene promoter activity was unaltered in response to estradiol in non-endocrine responsive ER+/HER2+ breast cancer cells, and could be further enhanced by tamoxifen. Pharmacological blockade with structurally and mechanistically unrelated FASN inhibitors fully impeded the strong stimulatory activity of tamoxifen on the soft-agar colony forming capacity-an in vitro metric of tumorigenicity-of ER+/HER2+ breast cancer cells. In vivo treatment with a FASN inhibitor completely prevented the agonistic tumor-promoting activity of tamoxifen and fully restored its estrogen antagonist properties against ER/HER2-positive xenograft tumors in mice. Functional cancer proteomic data from The Cancer Proteome Atlas (TCPA) revealed that the ER+/HER2+ subtype was the highest FASN protein expressor compared to basal-like, HER2-enriched, and ER+/HER2-negative breast cancer groups. FASN is a biological determinant of HER2-driven endocrine resistance in ER+ breast cancer. Next-generation, clinical-grade FASN inhibitors may be therapeutically relevant to countering resistance to tamoxifen in FASN-overexpressing ER+/HER2+ breast carcinomas