Abstract B36: Progesterone receptor signaling in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer

Abstract

Approximately 65% of breast cancers are estrogen receptor alpha (ERα)-positive and depend on ERα signaling for growth. Clinical data indicate that ERα-positive breast cancers have a better prognosis when another hormone receptor, the progesterone receptor (PR), is coexpressed. Recent studies show that in the presence of its ligand progesterone, PR redirects ERα chromatin binding and transcriptional activity, thereby impacting prognosis and therapeutic response. To further examine PR function, we knocked out the PGR gene in the ERα-positive breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and T47D using CRISPR-mediated gene editing. Knockout clones from each model were analyzed for ER- and PR-mediated transcriptional activity and gene expression profile, as well as response to selective estrogen receptor degraders (SERDs). The T47D cell line expresses high levels of PR in the presence or absence of estrogen, and stimulation with progesterone induces robust PR phosphorylation and modulation of PR target gene expression. Furthermore, progesterone attenuates estradiol-induced cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. Knockout of PR in this model abrogates the ability of progesterone to induce gene expression changes or attenuate estradiol-induced cell proliferation. In contrast, the MCF-7 cell line expresses low basal levels of PR, and is refractory to stimulation with progesterone. Interestingly, in estrogenic growth media, knockout of PR in this model results in basal gene expression changes that resemble a gene signature associated with tamoxifen resistance. Consistent with these findings, knockout of PR reduces the response to SERDs in a 5-day cell proliferation assay. ChIP-seq and RNA-seq analyses are ongoing to examine how loss of PR impacts ERα chromatin binding and transcriptional output. Citation Format: Amy Young, Jane Guan, Anneleen Daemen, Lori Friedman, Kui Lin. Progesterone receptor signaling in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Advances in Breast Cancer Research; 2017 Oct 7-10; Hollywood, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2018;16(8_Suppl):Abstract nr B36.