Differential gene expression in ER alpha-positive and ER alpha-negative breast cancer cells upon leptin stimulation

作者：Binai Nadine A; Carra Gert; Loewer Johannes; Loewer Roswitha; Wessler Silja^*

来源：Endocrine, 2013, 44(2): 496-503.

DOI：10.1007/s12020-013-9897-y

• Leptin
• Estrogen receptor
• Whole genome microarray
• Breast cancer

In postmenopausal women, adipositas represents a serious risk factor for cancer development and progression. White adipose tissue secretes the 16 kDa hormone leptin which plays a key role in the regulation of appetite and metabolism. An increasing number of reports indicate that leptin also interferes with signal transduction pathways implicated in the development of breast cancer. In our previous study, we identified the estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha) as a relevant enhancer of leptin-induced signal transduction leading to transactivation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3). The purpose of this study is the investigation of specific target gene expression in response to leptin-mediated Stat3 signaling. We performed a comprehensive microarray analysis of ER alpha-positive and ER alpha-negative MDA-MB-231 cells upon leptin treatment and identified 49 genes which showed a significant ER alpha-dependent regulation in leptin-treated MDA-MB-231 cells. There was no intersection with genes which were merely up- or downregulated by ER alpha expression and only 9 and 11 genes overlapping targets which were regulated by leptin stimulation either in ER alpha-expressing or ER alpha-negative MDA-MB-231 cells, respectively. To demonstrate the specificity, expression of three target genes was validated by quantitative real-time PCR. In conclusion, these data imply that leptin can induce a different set of target genes dependent on ER alpha expression, which might contribute to the development and progression of cancer diseases.

• 出版日期2013-10