title: 17 beta-Estradiol overcomes a G1 block induced by HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors and fosters cell cycle progression without inducing ERK-1 and -2 MAP kinases activation.
abstract: HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, such as Lovastatin and Simvastatin, cause cell cycle arrest by interfering with the mitogenic activity of mitogens present in culture media. Cells are induced to pause in G1 and can readily resume growth upon removal of the enzymatic block. Estrogens, acting via their nuclear receptor, are mitogens for different normal and transformed cell types, where they foster cell cycle progression and cell division. In estrogen-responsive MCF-7 human breast cancer cells, but not in non responsive cells, 17 beta-estradiol (E2) induces cells arrested with Lovastatin or Simvastatin to proliferate in the presence of inhibitor, without restoring HMG-CoA reductase activity or affecting the protein prenylation pattern. Mitogenic stimulation of G1-arrested MCF-7 cells with E2 includes primary transcriptional activation of c-fos, accompanied by transient binding in vivo of the estrogen receptor and/or other factors to the ERE and the estrogen-responsive DNA region of this proto-oncogene, as detected by dimethylsulphate genomic footprinting analysis. Mitogenic stimulation of growth-arrested MCF-7 cells by E2 occurs, under these conditions, without evident activation of ERK-1 and -2 kinases, and thus independently from the mitogen-responsive signal transduction pathways that converge on these enzymes.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Patologia generale e Oncologia, Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia, Seconda Università di Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: I M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Bonapace
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Addeo
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Altucci
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cicatiello
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bifulco
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Laezza
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Salzano
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sica
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bresciani
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weisz
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D001943:Breast Neoplasms; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects*; D002460:Cell Line; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004958:Estradiol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D016193:G1 Phase / Q000187:drug effects; D016762:Genes, fos / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D008148:Lovastatin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000378:metabolism*; D011959:Receptors, Estradiol / Q000502:physiology; D019821:Simvastatin; D015533:Transcriptional Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; C000715470:MAS1 protein, human; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D011959:Receptors, Estradiol; D004958:Estradiol; D002784:Cholesterol; D008148:Lovastatin; D019821:Simvastatin; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases