Abstract 7660: L-Arginine metabolism is of prognostic relevance in women with breast cancer, but varies considerably between subtypes in vitro - A bedside-to-bench translational approach
Authors: Hannemann Juliane , Ferrer Leticia Oliveira , Röglin Antonia , Kleinsang Fiona , Müller Volkmar , Witzel Isabell , Böger Rainer 
Published: March 2024

Availability of the semi-essential amino acid L-arginine (L-arg) is limiting for proliferation in highly proliferative tissues. L-Arg is also a substrate for nitric oxide synthases (NOS) and arginases (ARG) 1 and 2. Methylation of L-arg residues within proteins by protein L-arg methyltransferases (PRMTs) leads to asymmetric (ADMA) and symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA). Protein L-arg methylation is an important post-translational mechanism to regulate gene expression and cell cycle control. We measured L-arg and its metabolites in a prospective cohort of patients with primary breast cancer (BC). We further measured these metabolites and expression of genes involved in L-arg metabolic pathways in cell lines representing intrinsic BC subtypes. Plasma L-arg-related metabolite concentrations from 243 women with primary BC were associated with total mortality and disease recurrence during a median follow-up of 88 (IQR, 82-93) months. MCF-7, BT-474, SK-BR-3, and MDA-MB-468 cells representing ER-positive, HER2-positive, and triple negative BC were cultured in standard conditions and compared to MCF-12A normal breast epithelial cells. The plasma (in vivo) and intracellular concentrations (in vitro) of L-arg, L-ornithine (L-orn), L-citrulline (L-cit), ADMA, and SDMA were measured by UPLC-MS/MS. mRNA expression was quantified by qRT-PCR and protein expression was analyzed by Western Blot. In vivo, the plasma concentrations of all L-arg metabolites differed significantly between BC patients and healthy controls. L-Arg and ADMA were significantly higher in patients with recurrent disease and in those who died during follow up. ADMA was significantly associated with total mortality and recurrent disease in Luminal A patients; low L-orn/L-arg ratio was associated with survival in HER2+ BC patients, and low L-cit was associated with survival in triple negative BC. With the exception of MCF-7 cells, DDAH1 and DDAH2 mRNA concentrations in vitro were significantly higher in BC cells than in MCF-12A cells (DDAH1: 32-44 fold, DDAH2: 1.7-4.2 fold; p&lt;0.05). These differences were mirrored by DDAH1 and DDAH2 protein concentrations. By contrast, MCF-7 cells were characterized by low DDAH1 and DDAH2, but high PRMT4 and PRMT6 mRNA expression and high L-arg content. BT-474 cells showed high ARG2 expression and high L-arg and L-orn concentrations, and MDA-MB-468 cells had the highest L-cit/L-arg ratio. In conclusion, regulation of L-arg metabolic pathways shows a complex and differential pattern between intrinsic BC subtypes, which is mirrored in representative cell lines in vitro. ADMA is a prognostic biomarker in Luminal A breast cancer patients; its metabolizing enzyme, DDAH, is highly overexpressed in BC cells in vitro. Thus, fingerprinting of L-arg metabolism may offer novel personalized treatment options within intrinsic BC subtypes.

Citation Format: Juliane Hannemann, Leticia Oliveira Ferrer, Antonia Röglin, Fiona Kleinsang, Volkmar Müller, Isabell Witzel, Rainer Böger. L-Arginine metabolism is of prognostic relevance in women with breast cancer, but varies considerably between subtypes in vitro - A bedside-to-bench translational approach [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 7660.