Molecular endocrinology最新文献

Most breast cancer deaths occur in women with recurrent, estrogen receptor (ER)-α(+), metastatic tumors. There is a critical need for therapeutic approaches that include novel, targetable mechanism-based strategies by which ERα (+) tumors can be resensitized to endocrine therapies. The objective of this study was to validate a group of nuclear transport genes as potential biomarkers to predict the risk of endocrine therapy failure and to evaluate the inhibition of XPO1, one of these genes as a novel means to enhance the effectiveness of endocrine therapies. Using advanced statistical methods, we found that expression levels of several of nuclear transport genes including XPO1 were associated with poor survival and predicted recurrence of tamoxifen-treated breast tumors in human breast cancer gene expression data sets. In mechanistic studies we showed that the expression of XPO1 determined the cellular localization of the key signaling proteins and the response to tamoxifen. We demonstrated that combined targeting of XPO1 and ERα in several tamoxifen-resistant cell lines and tumor xenografts with the XPO1 inhibitor, Selinexor, and tamoxifen restored tamoxifen sensitivity and prevented recurrence in vivo. The nuclear transport pathways have not previously been implicated in the development of endocrine resistance, and given the need for better strategies for selecting patients to receive endocrine modulatory reagents and improving therapy response of relapsed ERα(+) tumors, our findings show great promise for uncovering the role these pathways play in reducing cancer recurrences.

Although many tissues express estrogen receptor (ER)α, most studies focus on breast cancer where ERα occupies just a small fraction of its total repertoire of potential DNA-binding sites, based on sequence. This raises the question: Can ERα occupy these other potential binding sites in a different context? Ligands, splice variants, posttranslational modifications, and acquired mutations of ERα affect its conformation, which may alter chromatin interactions. To date, literature describes the DNA-binding sites of ERα (the ERα cistrome) in breast, endometrium, liver, and bone, in which the receptor mainly binds to enhancers. Chromosomal boundaries provide distinct areas for dynamic gene regulation between tissues, where the usage of enhancers deviates. Interactions of ERα with enhancers and its transcriptional complex depend on the proteome, which differs per cell type. This review discusses the biological variables that influence ERα cistromics, using reports from human specimens, cell lines, and mouse tissues, to assess whether ERα genomics in breast cancer can be translated to other tissue types.

Comparison of 11 human nuclear receptor amino acid sequences revealed a conserved phosphorylation motif within their DNA-binding domains as an intramolecular signal that regulates proteolytic degradation. Nuclear receptors use this signal to either degrade or proscribe degradation through either the proteasome or nonproteasome pathways. A phosphomimetic farnesoid X receptor (FXR) S154D mutant neither bound to nor trans-activated an FXR-response element-driven reporter gene and was rapidly degraded in COS-1 cells. Ectopically expressed FXR had increased Ser154 phosphorylation in COS-1 cells after ligand treatment, and knock-down of the nuclear vaccinia-related kinase 1 (VRK1) greatly reduced this phosphorylation. FXR was phosphorylated at Ser154 in the nucleus of centrilobular hepatocytes only in ligand-treated mice. Thus, FXR Ser154 phosphorylation is a rheostat for activation and subsequent degradation that controls receptor levels and activity.

Elevated basal insulin secretion under fasting conditions together with insufficient stimulated insulin release is an important hallmark of type 2 diabetes, but the mechanisms controlling basal insulin secretion remain unclear. Membrane rafts exist in pancreatic islet cells and spatially organize membrane ion channels and proteins controlling exocytosis, which may contribute to the regulation of insulin secretion. Membrane rafts (cholesterol and sphingolipid containing microdomains) were dramatically reduced in human type 2 diabetic and diabetic Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rat islets when compared with healthy islets. Oxidation of membrane cholesterol markedly reduced microdomain staining intensity in healthy human islets, but was without effect in type 2 diabetic islets. Intriguingly, oxidation of cholesterol affected glucose-stimulated insulin secretion only modestly, whereas basal insulin release was elevated. This was accompanied by increased intracellular Ca²⁺ spike frequency and Ca²⁺ influx and explained by enhanced single Ca²⁺ channel activity. These results suggest that the reduced presence of membrane rafts could contribute to the elevated basal insulin secretion seen in type 2 diabetes.