title: O-Glycosylation of human sex hormone-binding globulin is essential for inhibition of estradiol-induced MCF-7 breast cancer cell proliferation.
abstract: Human sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) is a homodimeric plasma glycoprotein, and each SHBG monomer may have an O-linked oligosaccharide at Thr(7) and up to two N-linked oligosaccharides at Asn(351) and Asn(367). In addition, a common genetic variant of SHBG exists with an extra site for N-glycosylation at residue 327. In the present study, we isolated MCF-7 derived cell lines expressing human SHBG cDNAs encoding the wild type protein or various glycosylation mutants. Estradiol (1 nM) treatment of parental (untransfected) MCF-7 cells or MCF-7 cells transfected with control expression vectors resulted in an increase in proliferation which was fully abrogated by co-incubation with an equimolar amount of human SHBG. In contrast, the same amount of purified SHBG added to MCF-7 cells expressing wild type SHBG partially inhibited the estradiol-induced cell proliferation. A high affinity binding site for SHBG was detectable on untransfected and control cells, but not on MCF-7 cells expressing wild type SHBG. Moreover, the treatment of MCF-7 cells with the conditioned medium containing wild type SHBG caused the disappearance of the SHBG plasma membrane-binding site. Media containing SHBG N-glycosylation mutants exerted the same effect, but mutants lacking the O-linked oligosaccharide at Thr(7) failed to do so. Estradiol-induced proliferation of parental MCF-7 cells was also inhibited by treatment with conditioned medium containing wild type SHBG or SHBG mutants lacking N-linked oligosaccharides, or containing an additional N-linked oligosaccharide at residue 327. However, MCF-7 conditioned medium containing SHBG mutants lacking an O-linked oligosaccharide at Thr(7) failed to exert this effect. These data suggest that O-glycosylation of SHBG is essential for SHBG binding to a membrane receptor that is responsible for inhibiting the estradiol-induced proliferation of MCF-7 breast cancer cells.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoria di Endocrinologia Oncologica and Endocrinologia, Dipartimento di Oncologia, Azienda Ospedaliera San Giovanni Battista, Via Genova 3, 10126, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Raineri
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Catalano
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Hammond
authors.forename: G V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Avvakumov
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Frairia
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fortunati
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology*; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; D004958:Estradiol / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006031:Glycosylation; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D009154:Mutation; D011485:Protein Binding; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin; D004958:Estradiol