Abstract LB-203: Aromatase expression promotes breast cancer tumorigenesis and bone metastasis
Authors: De Keya , Liu Zhao , Yu Lan , Sun Luzhe 
Published: February 2011

Aromatase P450 (CYP19) is the rate-limiting enzyme catalyzing the final step in estrogen biosynthesis, and an important target in breast cancer therapy. In post-menopausal women, ovaries cease to make estrogen, yet the incidence of breast cancer increases with age as aromatase present in breast adipose stroma and epithelium catalyzes local estrogen formation. The circulating estrogen level in postmenopausal women is very low and it reflects the sum of local estrogen biosynthesis in various sites. Although breast cancer cells have been shown to express aromatase prompting the hypothesis that intracrine action of estrogen in breast cancer cells may drive tumor progression, there has been little evidence in addressing the hypothesis.

We stably transfected the ER positive (ER+) breast cancer ZR-75-1 cells with an human aromatase expression vector and obtained a few clones expressing a moderately higher level of aromatase in comparison with the control vector-transfected cells. One of the clones called ZR-75-1/Aro/Clone10 (Cl10) was selected for further study due to its increased intracellular estradiol (E2) concentration compared to other clones. The Cl10 cells formed tumors after being xenografted into the inguinal mammary fat pad of female athymic mice while the control cells were incapable of forming tumors without estrogen supplementation. Implantation of testosterone pellet further stimulated the growth of the tumor and a cell line, ZR-75-1/Aro/Clone10/TT1 (TT1) was established from the tumor. Both Cl10 and TT1 cells expressed similar levels of aromatase. Interestingly, the aromatase expression increased when the cells were cultured in suspension suggesting circulating ER+ breast cancer cells may up-regulate intracrine estrogen activity for survival after leaving the estrogen-rich adipose stroma at primary site. To investigate the importance of intracrine estrogen in promoting tumorigenesis and metastasis, we implanted the Cl10 and TT1 cells orthotopically and intracardiacally (I.C.) into female athymic mice. Notably, both cell lines generated orthotopic tumors with no estrogen supplementation after three weeks of inoculation. More interestingly, the mice with I.C. inoculated aromatase-expressing cells presented distant metastasis to bones in mandible and legs after two weeks of inoculation detected by whole mouse fluorescence and bioluminescence imaging as both cells were stably transfected with a luciferase and GFP expression vector. We will determine whether growth of the orthotopic tumors and bone metastases can be inhibited with systemic administration of an aromatase inhibitor and whether bone metastasis is osteoclastic or osteoblastic. Our studies show that a moderate expression of aromatase in breast cancer cells is sufficient to generate intracrine estrogenic action and promote tumorigenesis and skeletal metastasis in ER+ breast cancer cells. These aromatase-expressing models should be useful for future investigation on how ER+ breast cancer cells up-regulate aromatase expression in suspension and induces bone remodeling.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-203.