title: Stat1 is a suppressor of ErbB2/Neu-mediated cellular transformation and mouse mammary gland tumor formation.
abstract: The anti-tumor function of Stat1 as a regulator of innate immunity and tumor immune surveillance has been long studied and is well understood; however, less clear is its tumor-site specific role. Although Stat1 phosphorylated at tyrosine (Y) 701 and serine (S) 727 is essential for interferon (IFN) signalling, its function in signalling induced in breast cancer cells is not understood. Herein, we show that Stat1 Y701 phosphorylation is increased in human breast tumor cells with elevated levels of ErbB2/HER-2 and in cells transfected with ErbB2/Neu. However, pharmacological inhibition of ErbB2/HER-2 results in the inhibition of Stat1 Y701 phosphorylation indicating an atypical role of phosphorylated Stat1 in the inhibition of ErbB2/HER-2 signalling. Consistent with this notion, we found that Stat1 suppresses tumor development by an activated form of ErbB2/Neu in mouse embryonic fibroblasts in xenograft tumor assays; however, this anti-tumor function of Stat1 does not rely on Y701 and S727 phosphorylation. Experiments with transgenic mice demonstrated that Stat1 acts to suppress Neu-mediated breast tumorigenesis through immune regulatory and tumor-site specific mechanisms. Our data reveal a previous uncharacterized anti-tumor activity of Stat1 in ErbB2/Neu-mediated cell transformation and breast oncogenesis with possible implications in the diagnosis and treatment of ErbB2-positive breast cancers.
authors.affiliation: Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Sir Mortimer B. Davis-Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Jennifer F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Raven
authors.forename: Virginie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Shuo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Michel L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Tremblay
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Muller
authors.forename: Joan E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Durbin
authors.forename: Antonis E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Koromilas
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D002460:Cell Line; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D000077156:Gefitinib; D006801:Humans; D000077341:Lapatinib; D008321:Mammary Glands, Animal / Q000378:metabolism; D008325:Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011799:Quinazolines / Q000494:pharmacology; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D050794:STAT1 Transcription Factor / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000077156:Gefitinib; D000077341:Lapatinib; D011799:Quinazolines; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D050794:STAT1 Transcription Factor