Metastatic progression with resistance to aromatase inhibitors is driven by the steroid receptor coactivator SRC-1
Menée sur une cohorte de patientes atteintes d'un cancer du sein et sur une lignée cellulaire, cette étude identifie le rôle joué par le coactivateur SRC-1 du récepteur des stéroïdes dans le processus métastatique associé à l'apparition d'une résistance aux inhibiteurs d'aromatase
Aromatase Inhibitors (AIs) are a standard of care treatment for post-menopausal, estrogen receptor-positive breast cancers. Although tumor recurrence on AI therapy occurs, the mechanisms underlying acquired resistance to AIs remain unknown. In this study we examined a cohort of endocrine-treated breast cancer patients and employed a cell line model of resistance to the AI letrozole. In patients treated with a first-line AI, hormone receptor switching between primary and resistant tumors was a common feature of disease recurrence. Resistant cells exhibited a switch from steroid-responsive growth to growth factor-responsive and endocrine-independent growth, which was accompanied by the development of a more migratory and disorganized phenotype. Both the resistant cells and tumors from AI-resistant patients showed high expression of the steroid receptor coactivator SRC-1. Direct interactions between SRC-1 and the transcription factor Ets2 regulated Myc and MMP9. SRC-1 was required for the aggressive and motile phenotype of AI-resistant cells. Interestingly, SRC-1 expression in primary and/or recurrent tumors was associated with a reduction in disease-free survival in treated patients. Moreover, there was a significant association between SRC-1 and Ets2 in the recurrent tissue compared with the matched primary tumor. Together, our findings elucidate a mechanism of AI-specific metastatic progression in which interactions between SRC-1 and Ets2 promote de-differentiation and migration in hormone-dependent breast cancer.
Cancer Research 2011