Overexpression of ERα inhibits proliferation and invasion of MKN28 gastric cancer cells by suppressing β-catenin

Abstract

Abstract.The relationship between estrogen receptor (ER)α and patient prognosis has been identified in gastric cancer; however, the definite role of ERα in gastric cancer remains to be fully elucidated. The aim of the present in vitro study was to investigate the impact of ERα on cell proliferation, migration and invasion in gastric cancer cell lines. We investigated the biological effect of ERα overexpression on gastric carcinoma cells. An MKN28 gastric cancer cell line stably overexpressing ERα was established. The effect of ERα overexpression on cell growth was assessed by evaluating cell survival, colony formation, cell cycle progression and apoptosis. Cell migration and invasion were detected by Transwell migration/invasion assays. The protein levels of several potentially involved genes were determined by western blotting to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms. The Student's t-test was used to determine the statistical differences between various experimental and control groups, and one-way ANOVA test was used to determine the difference between three or more groups. The results showed that ERα overexpression significantly inhibited cell growth and proliferation, blocked cell entry into the G1/G0 phase and promoted cell apoptosis. In addition, ERα reduced the motility and invasion of gastric cancer cells. These phenotypes may partly be explained by a decrease in β-catenin expression caused by ERα overexpression. ERα overexpression effectively inhibited cell growth and cancer progression by suppressing β-catenin in gastric cancer, identifying ERα as a promising target with therapeutic potential for development of new approaches to treat gastric cancer.

mRNA expression of steroidogenic enzymes, steroid hormone receptors and their coregulators in gastric cancer

“…In the current study, patients who were >60 years old had significantly lower levels of ESR2 mRNA in tumoral compared with healthy gastric tissue samples; however, all ESR2 splicing variants were analyzed simultaneously. A previous study suggested that ESR1 may exhibit antiproliferative activity, and reduce the motility and invasion of GC cells (64). Furthermore, ESR1 has been associated with an early TNM stage in GC (18).…”

The roles of estrogen and estrogen receptors in gastrointestinal disease (Review)

“…However, other researchers have demonstrated the expression of both receptors in GC (62)(63)(64). Zhou et al (65) found that the expression of β-catenin was reduced when ERα was overexpressed, and this resulted in a decrease in growth and proliferation of GC cells, and an increase in the apoptotic rate by preventing entry into the G 1 /G 0 phase. ER-α is considered a rare subtype of estrogen receptor ERα, which is associated with increased Figure 2.…”

Risk Factors of Gastric Premalignant Lesion in Gastritis Patients

“…Previous studies found that men are at higher risk of developing gastric cancers. Zhou et al (2013) reported that estrogen hormones are protective against gastric cancer. Overexpression of estrogen receptor can decrease motility and invasion of cancer cells by inhibiting cell growth and malignant progression.…”