Abstract
Background: Both epidemiological and experimental studies suggest that excessive alcohol exposure increases the risk for breast cancer and enhances metastasis/recurrence. We have previously demonstrated that alcohol enhanced the migration/invasion of breast cancer cells and cancer cells overexpressing ErbB2/HER2 were more sensitive to alcohol exposure. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study was designed to investigate the mechanisms underlying alcohol-enhanced aggressiveness of breast cancer. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) play a critical role in cancer metastasis and recurrence.
Methods: We evaluated the effect of chronic alcohol exposure on mammary tumor development/metastasis in MMTV-neu transgenic mice and investigated the cell signaling in response to alcohol exposure in breast cancer cells overexpressing ErbB2/HER2.
Results and discussion: Chronic alcohol exposure increased breast cancer stem cell-like CSC population and enhanced the lung and colon metastasis in MMTV-neu transgenic mice. Alcohol exposure caused a drastic increase in CSC population and mammosphere formation in breast cancer cells overexpressing ErbB2/HER2. Alcohol exposure stimulated the phosphorylation of p38γ MAPK (p-p38γ) which was co-localized with phosphorylated ErbB2 and CSCs in the mammary tumor tissues. In vitro results confirmed that alcohol activated ErbB2/HER2 and selectively increased p-p38γ MAPK as well as the interaction between p38γ MAPK and its substrate, SAP97. However, alcohol did not affect the expression/phosphorylation of p38α/β MAPKs. In breast cancer cell lines, high expression of ErbB2 and p-p38γ MAPK was generally correlated with more CSC population. Blocking ErbB2 signaling abolished heregulin β1- and alcohol-stimulated p-p38γ MAPK and its association with SAP97. More importantly, p38γ MAPK siRNA significantly inhibited an alcohol-induced increase in CSC population, mammosphere formation and migration/invasion of breast cancer cells overexpressing ErbB2.
Conclusions: p38γ MAPK is downstream of ErbB2 and plays an important role in alcohol-enhanced aggressiveness of breast cancer. Therefore, in addition to ErbB2/HER2, p38γ MAPK may be a potential target for the treatment of alcohol-enhanced cancer aggressiveness.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-14-2016
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12943-016-0532-4
Funding Information
This research is supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (AA017226 and AA015407).
Repository Citation
Xu, Mei; Ren, Zhenhua; Wang, Xin; Comer, Ashley; Frank, Jacqueline A.; Ke, Zun-Ji; Huang, Yi; Zhang, Zhuo; Shi, Xianglin; Wang, Siying; and Luo, Jia, "ErbB2 and p38γ MAPK Mediate Alcohol-Induced Increase in Breast Cancer Stem Cells and Metastasis" (2016). Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications. 40.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/pharmacol_facpub/40
Additional file 1: Figure S1.
12943_2016_532_MOESM2_ESM.eps (1219 kB)
Additional file 2: Figure S2.
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Notes/Citation Information
Published in Molecular Cancer, v. 15, 52, p. 1-14.
© 2016 Luo et al.
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