Oestrogen and progesterone receptors in colorectal cancer and human colonic cancer cell lines

Abstract

Receptors for oestrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) were assayed in tissue from 17 patients with colorectal cancer and five colonic cancer cell lines using enzyme immunoassays. ERs and PRs were detected in 15 and 17 cancers respectively, although the levels detected were low: median (range) ER 1.3 (0-11.3) and PR 3.9 (0.3-10.2) fmol per mg protein. These values were not significantly different from median (range) levels of ER (1.1 (0.6-3.0) fmol/mg) and PR (1.9 (0.5-3.2) fmol/mg) detected in normal mucosa. There were significant positive correlations between the levels of ER and PR for cancer tissue (tau = 0.56, P < 0.005; r(log transform) = 0.68, P < 0.003; n = 17) but not for mucosa, and between levels of ER in cancer tissue and mucosa (tau = 0.55, P < 0.05; r(log transform) = 0.70, P < 0.025; n = 10) but not between the corresponding PR values. In maintenance media, which contained phenol red and unstripped fetal calf serum, the median (range) concentration of ER was 1.9 (1.2-10.4) fmol/mg and that for PR 24.3 (9.1-63.2) fmol/mg in the five cell lines studied (HT-29, LS174T, SW620, LoVo, COLO 320DM). The addition of oestradiol (10 nmol/l) to phenol red-free medium containing 5 per cent dextran-coated charcoal-treated fetal calf serum had little effect on the concentration of ERs or PRs in SW620, LoVo and COLO 320DM cells after 7 days' culture. It is concluded that ERs and PRs are expressed in malignant and normal colonic mucosa. ERs appear to be a feature of the colonic mucosa rather than the malignant process, but in carcinoma may regulate synthesis of PRs, suggesting a degree of oestrogen responsiveness.

The effect of estrogen vs. combined estrogen‐progestogen therapy on the risk of colorectal cancer

“…Activation of the receptors can pose a downstream effect that likely leads to inhibition of cell growth. [37][38][39] Furthermore, some prior research suggests that estrogen itself is tumor suppressive and HT may enhance this relationship. For instance, methylation of the promotor region of estrogen receptor gene has been linked to human colon cancer.…”

Reproductive history and risk of colorectal cancer in postmenopausal women.

“…Progesterone opposes the mitogenic effects of estrogen in reproductive tract tissues (eg, the endometrium) (26), and it is conceivable that progestagens may exert similar effects on other tissues, such as the colonic epithelium. Both normal and malignant colon cells express progesterone receptors (44)(45)(46); however, the direct biological effects of progesterone on colonic tissue are not understood. In contrast to our results, a recent study conducted in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC), which evaluated a similar number of colorectal cancer case subjects as in this study, found no association between reproductive history and the risk of colorectal cancer (25).…”

Role of oil extract of garlic (Allium sativum Linn.) on intestinal transference of calcium and its possible correlation with preservation of skeletal health in an ovariectomized rat model of osteoporosis

“…There is evidence that estrogen may be involved directly determining intestinal calcium absorption. Estrogen receptors (Francavilla et al, 1987;Meggouh et al, 1991;Hendrickse et al, 1993;Fernandez et al, 1996), as well as estrogen-receptor-associated proteins, pS2 antigen (Luqmani et al, 1992;Theisinger et al, 1993;Welter et al, 1994) and ER-D5 (Takeda et al, 1992), have been demonstrated consistently in the mucosa along the alimentary tract, suggesting a specific physiological role for estrogen in the intestine. Moreover, the available data indicate that the decrease in the basal levels of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 (1,25(OH) 2 D 3 ) could not solely account for the decrease in calcium absorption, suggesting that the intestine of elderly or ovariectomized women is resistant to 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 (Francis et al, 1984;Gennari et al, 1990).…”