Tamoxifen represses miR-200 microRNAs and promotes epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition by up-regulating c-Myc in endometrial carcinoma cell lines

Endocrinology. 2013 Feb;154(2):635-45. doi: 10.1210/en.2012-1607. Epub 2013 Jan 7.

Abstract

Although tamoxifen (TAM), a selective estrogen receptor modulator, has been widely used in the treatment of hormone-responsive breast cancer, its estrogen-like effect increases the risk of endometrial cancer. However, the molecular mechanisms of TAM-induced endometrial carcinoma still remain unclear. In this report, we explored the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in TAM-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in ECC-1 and Ishikawa endometrial cancer cell lines and found miR-200 is involved in this process via the regulation of c-Myc. When treated with TAM, ECC-1 and Ishikawa cells were characterized by higher invasiveness and motility and underwent EMT. miR-200, a miRNA family with tumor suppressive functions in a wide range of cancers, was found reduced in response to TAM treatment. Consistent with zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 2, which was confirmed as a direct target of miR-200b in endometrial cancer cell lines, some other key factors of EMT such as Snail and N-cadherin increased, whereas E-cadherin decreased in the TAM-treated cells, contributing to TAM-induced EMT in these endometrial cancer cells. In addition, we showed that c-Myc directly binds to and represses the promoter of miR-200 miRNAs, and its up-regulation in TAM-treated endometrial cancer cells leads to the down-regulation of miR-200 and eventually to EMT. Collectively, our data suggest that TAM can repress the miR-200 family and induce EMT via the up-regulation of c-Myc in endometrial cancer cells. These findings describe a possible mechanism of TAM-induced EMT in endometrial cancer and provide a potential new therapeutic strategy for it.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Endometrial Neoplasms / chemically induced*
  • Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition / drug effects*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • MicroRNAs / biosynthesis
  • MicroRNAs / drug effects*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc / biosynthesis*
  • Tamoxifen / adverse effects
  • Tamoxifen / therapeutic use*

Substances

  • MIRN200 microRNA, human
  • MicroRNAs
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc
  • Tamoxifen