University of Houston (UH) researchers have their sights set on developing possible
treatments for breast and colon cancer.
In two separate, yet related, studies published in the June and August issues of the
journal Molecular Endocrinology, professor Cecilia Williams and her team at the Center
for Nuclear Receptors and Cell Signaling (CNRCS) explored the role of estrogen hormones
in potentially treating and preventing these cancers. More specifically, Williams
examined regulatory molecules called estrogen receptors (ER), which are the tools
that allow estrogen and related molecules to act in the cell.
Although estrogen is a female hormone, both men and women have receptors that are
activated by estrogen. There are two types of estrogen receptors, ERalpha and ERbeta.
ERalpha activity is associated with inducing breast cancer in women, whereas ERbeta
is hypothesized to help prevent colon cancer.
In the first study, featured on the June cover of the journal Molecular Endocrinology,
Williams and her team focused on the impact of ERbeta on colorectal cancer cells in
cultures, called cell lines, to see how estrogen hormones could be used to prevent
colon cancer. For each cell line, the researchers introduced this estrogen receptor
to allow them to study its activity in the colon cancer cells. They found an association
between the expression of ERbeta and tumor-fighting characteristics of the cells and
identified the presence of several proteins involved in the protective interactions.
“Through our research, we found that the presence of estrogen receptor beta not only
slowed the growth of colorectal cancer cells, but they also helped to protect against
further development of the cancer,” Williams said. “Our work demonstrates the potential
of novel hormone compounds that activate this estrogen receptor to become possible
new colon cancer preventive treatments.”
In the second study, the team worked with the other estrogen receptor, ERalpha, to
learn more about the mechanism by which estrogen induces growth of breast cancer tumor
cells. The team identified the gene KCNK5, a potassium channel regulator found in
tissues that controls a wide variety of cell functions, as a key gene involved in
this growth. They showed that KCNK5 was stimulated by the activation of the estrogen
receptors in breast cancer cell lines and is required for tumor cell growth. With
this new knowledge, the researchers confirmed the potential of KCNK5 as a target for
breast cancer therapeutics.
“Building on our colon cancer research reported in the June issue, we examined the
influence of estrogen on gene expression as a way of targeting and treating breast
cancer tumor cells,” Williams said. “The results of our research will open new opportunities
for treating cancer with novel compounds, such as hormone therapy, which add, block
or specifically activate only one of the two receptors in the body to combat the growth
of cancer cells.”
Williams’ collaborators included CNRCS director Jan-Åke Gustafsson, UH biology and
biochemistry professor Stuart Dryer, research assistant professors Anders Ström and
Christoforos Thomas, and graduate students Karin Edvardsson, Claudia Alvarez-Baron
and Philip Jonsson. The research was funded in part with a grant from the Texas Emerging
Technology Fund, as well as grants from the Lars Hierta Memorial Foundation, the Magnus
Bergvall Foundation, the Swedish Cancer Society and the Robert A. Welch Foundation.
Molecular Endocrinology provides a forum for papers devoted to describing molecular
mechanisms by which hormones and related compounds, like receptors, regulate function.
To read an abstract of the June cover story titled “Estrogen Receptor {beta} Induces
Anti-inflammatory and Antitumorigenic Networks in Colon Cancer Cells,” visit http://mend.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/me.2010-0452v1. For the August abstract titled “The Two-Pore Domain Potassium Channel KCNK5: Induction
by Estrogen Receptor {alpha} and Role in Proliferation of Breast Cancer Cells,” visit
http://mend.endojournals.org/content/25/8/1326.abstract.
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Editorial Note: High-resolution photos of Cecilia Williams are available to media
by contacting Lisa Merkl.
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university
recognized by The Princeton Review as one of the nation’s best colleges for undergraduate
education. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing
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in the nation’s fourth-largest city, UH serves more than 38,500 students in the most
ethnically and culturally diverse region in the country.
About the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
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