MGMT promoter hypermethylation and K-RAS, PTEN and TP53 mutations in tamoxifen-exposed and non-exposed endometrial cancer cases

background: Tamoxifen has anti-oestrogenic and anti-tumour activity in the breast, but is oestrogenic and carcinogenic in the endometrium. It can induce experimental tumours by both hormonal and DNA-damaging mechanisms, but its carcinogenic mode of action in human endometrium remains unclear. methods: We investigated whether an epigenetic mechanism, involving promoter hypermethylation of the gene for the DNA repair enzyme MGMT (O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase), was associated with K-RAS, TP53 and PTEN mutations in endometrial tumours from women treated with tamoxifen (TAM, n=30) or unexposed to the drug (EC, n=38). results: There were significant (PA, occurred in small numbers in both groups. TP53 mutations were of mainly A>G, C>T and indel modifications in both groups, but more frequent in TAM cases. PTEN mutations dominated in EC tumours and were of the type that has large impact on protein function, such as indel or nonsense mutations. These observations alongside the mutational spectrum in PTEN suggest that the malignancies arise from different backgrounds, hence pointing to an effect of tamoxifen. Both groups displayed MGMT promoter hypermethylation. This coincided with mutations more frequently in the TAM (78%) than in the EC (50%) group, even though there were significantly (P<0.05) fewer mutations and methylations in TAM cases. conclusions: Although the difference in coincidence did not reach significance with the current sample size, the findings suggest that epigenetic processes may play a role in the way tamoxifen induces endometrial cancer

The Herbicide Atrazine Activates Endocrine Gene Networks via Non-Steroidal NR5A Nuclear Receptors in Fish and Mammalian Cells

Atrazine (ATR) remains a widely used broadleaf herbicide in the United States despite the fact that this s-chlorotriazine has been linked to reproductive abnormalities in fish and amphibians. Here, using zebrafish we report that environmentally relevant ATR concentrations elevated zcyp19a1 expression encoding aromatase (2.2 µg/L), and increased the ratio of female to male fish (22 µg/L). ATR selectively increased zcyp19a1, a known gene target of the nuclear receptor SF-1 (NR5A1), whereas zcyp19a2, which is estrogen responsive, remained unchanged. Remarkably, in mammalian cells ATR functions in a cell-specific manner to upregulate SF-1 targets and other genes critical for steroid synthesis and reproduction, including Cyp19A1, StAR, Cyp11A1, hCG, FSTL3, LHß, INHα, αGSU, and 11ß-HSD2. Our data appear to eliminate the possibility that ATR directly affects SF-1 DNA- or ligand-binding. Instead, we suggest that the stimulatory effects of ATR on the NR5A receptor subfamily (SF-1, LRH-1, and zff1d) are likely mediated by receptor phosphorylation, amplification of cAMP and PI3K signaling, and possibly an increase in the cAMP-responsive cellular kinase SGK-1, which is known to be upregulated in infertile women. Taken together, we propose that this pervasive and persistent environmental chemical alters hormone networks via convergence of NR5A activity and cAMP signaling, to potentially disrupt normal endocrine development and function in lower and higher vertebrates

Ligand-activated peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma alters placental morphology and placental fatty acid uptake in mice.

The nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) is essential for murine placental development. We previously showed that activation of PPARgamma in primary human trophoblasts enhances the uptake of fatty acids and alters the expression of several proteins associated with fatty acid trafficking. In this study we examined the effect of ligand-activated PPARgamma on placental development and transplacental fatty acid transport in wild-type (wt) and PPARgamma(+/-) embryos. We found that exposure of pregnant mice to the PPARgamma agonist rosiglitazone for 8 d (embryonic d 10.5-18.5) reduced the weights of wt, but not PPARgamma(+/-) placentas and embryos. Exposure to rosiglitazone reduced the thickness of the spongiotrophoblast layer and the surface area of labyrinthine vasculature, and altered expression of proteins implicated in placental development. The expression of fatty acid transport protein 1 (FATP1), FATP4, adipose differentiation related protein, S3-12, and myocardial lipid droplet protein was enhanced in placentas of rosiglitazone-treated wt embryos, whereas the expression of FATP-2, -3, and -6 was decreased. Additionally, rosiglitazone treatment was associated with enhanced accumulation of the fatty acid analog 15-(p-iodophenyl)-3-(R, S)-methyl pentadecanoic acid in the placenta, but not in the embryos. These results demonstrate that in vivo activation of PPARgamma modulates placental morphology and fatty acid accumulation

Fatty acid binding protein 4 is a target of VEGF and a regulator of cell proliferation in endothelial cells

Fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) plays an important role in maintaining glucose and lipid homeostasis. FABP4 has been primarily regarded as an adipocyte- and macrophage-specific protein, but recent studies suggest that it may be more widely expressed. We found strong FABP4 expression in the endothelial cells (ECs) of capillaries and small veins in several mouse and human tissues, including the heart and kidney. FABP4 was also detected in the ECs of mature human placental vessels and infantile hemangiomas, the most common tumor of infancy and ECs. In most of these cases, FABP4 was detected in both the nucleus and cytoplasm. FABP4 mRNA and protein levels were significantly induced in cultured ECs by VEGF-A and bFGF treatment. The effect of VEGF-A on FABP4 expression was inhibited by chemical inhibition or short-hairpin (sh) RNA-mediated knockdown of VEGF-receptor-2 (R2), whereas the VEGFR1 agonists, placental growth factors 1 and 2, had no effect on FABP4 expression. Knockdown of FABP4 in ECs significantly reduced proliferation both under baseline conditions and in response to VEGF and bFGF. Thus, FABP4 emerged as a novel target of the VEGF/VEGFR2 pathway and a positive regulator of cell proliferation in ECs.—Elmasri, H., Karaaslan, C., Teper, Y., Ghelfi, E., Weng, M., Ince, T. A., Kozakewich, H., Bischoff, J., Cataltepe, S. Fatty acid binding protein 4 is a target of VEGF and a regulator of cell proliferation in endothelial cells