G protein-coupled estrogen receptor mediates the up-regulation of fatty acid synthase induced by 17β-estradiol in cancer cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts

J Biol Chem. 2012 Dec 21;287(52):43234-45. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M112.417303. Epub 2012 Nov 7.

Abstract

Activation of lipid metabolism is an early event in carcinogenesis and a central hallmark of many tumors. Fatty acid synthase (FASN) is a key lipogenic enzyme catalyzing the terminal steps in the de novo biogenesis of fatty acids. In cancer cells, FASN may act as a metabolic oncogene, given that it confers growth and survival advantages to these cells, whereas its inhibition effectively and selectively kills tumor cells. Hormones such as estrogens and growth factors contribute to the transcriptional regulation of FASN expression also through the activation of downstream signaling and a cross-talk among diverse transduction pathways. In this study, we demonstrate for the first time that 17β-estradiol (E2) and the selective GPER ligand G-1 regulate FASN expression and activity through the GPER-mediated signaling, which involved the EGF receptor/ERK/c-Fos/AP1 transduction pathway, as ascertained by using specific pharmacological inhibitors, performing gene-silencing experiments and ChIP assays in breast SkBr3, colorectal LoVo, hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cancer cells, and breast cancer-associated fibroblasts. In addition, the proliferative effects induced by E2 and G-1 in these cells involved FASN as the inhibitor of its activity, named cerulenin, abolished the growth response to both ligands. Our data suggest that GPER may be included among the transduction mediators involved by estrogens in regulating FASN expression and activity in cancer cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts that strongly contribute to cancer progression.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cerulenin / pharmacology
  • ErbB Receptors / genetics
  • ErbB Receptors / metabolism
  • Estradiol / pharmacology*
  • Estrogens / pharmacology*
  • Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases / genetics
  • Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases / metabolism
  • Fatty Acid Synthase, Type I / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Fatty Acid Synthase, Type I / biosynthesis*
  • Fatty Acid Synthase, Type I / genetics
  • Fatty Acid Synthesis Inhibitors / pharmacology
  • Female
  • Fibroblasts / metabolism*
  • Fibroblasts / pathology
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / drug effects*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / drug effects*
  • Hep G2 Cells
  • Humans
  • Neoplasms / genetics
  • Neoplasms / metabolism*
  • Neoplasms / pathology
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / genetics
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / metabolism
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / genetics
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / metabolism*
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects
  • Transcription Factor AP-1 / genetics
  • Transcription Factor AP-1 / metabolism
  • Transcription, Genetic / drug effects
  • Transcription, Genetic / genetics
  • Up-Regulation / drug effects
  • Up-Regulation / genetics

Substances

  • Estrogens
  • Fatty Acid Synthesis Inhibitors
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled
  • Transcription Factor AP-1
  • Cerulenin
  • Estradiol
  • FASN protein, human
  • Fatty Acid Synthase, Type I
  • EGFR protein, human
  • ErbB Receptors
  • Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases