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Cortesi L, Galli GR, Domati F, Conte L, Manca L, Berio MA, Toss A, Iannone A, Federico M. Obesity in Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Patients: It Is Time to Improve Actions for a Healthier Lifestyle. The Results of a Comparison Between Two Italian Regions With Different "Presumed" Lifestyles. Front Oncol 2021; 11:769683. [PMID: 34869002 PMCID: PMC8637830 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.769683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Adult body fatness is a convincing risk factor for postmenopausal breast cancer. With the aim to compare the different breast cancer (BC) features in Northern and Southern Italy, we investigated the relationship between BMI and BC characteristic in two groups of patients referred in the Modena and Lecce breast units. Materials and Methods A retrospective analysis of a continuous series of BC patients referred to the Città di Lecce Hospital and the Modena Cancer Center, from January 2019 to December 2020 was performed. We identified four groups of BMI at BC diagnosis: underweight, BMI <18.5 kg/m2; normal weight, BMI ≥ 18.5–24.9 kg/m2; overweight, BMI ≥ 25.0–29.9 kg/m2; obese, BMI ≥30.0 kg/m2. BC characteristics and clinical outcomes were analyzed by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and Mann-Whitney U test; categorical data were compared using Pearson’s chi-square test, and dicotomic data were compared by odds ratio. Results Nine hundred seventy-seven BC patients were included in the analysis. Overall, 470 were from Modena and 507 from Lecce. No differences were observed in the mean age of BC patients of Modena (61,42) and Lecce (62,08). No statistical differences between the two populations were shown in terms of tumor characteristics and pathological stage. Conversely, a statistical difference of BMI between the BC patients coming from Modena and Lecce (25.87 and 27.81, respectively; p = 0.000001) was found. BC patients diagnosed in Lecce at age ≥70 years had higher median BMI compared with the ones from Modena (p = 0.000002). The increased BMI in this aged population was also associated to larger tumor size (p = 0.040). Conclusion The rate of overweight and obesity was higher in BC women living in Southern Italy, despite the presumed nutrition according to the so-called Mediterranean type dietary pattern. Unexpectedly, an increased BMI rate and a relationship with larger tumor size were found in Southern BC patients aged ≥70 years. Our findings strongly support the need for promoting a healthier lifestyle model in Italy, with the aim of reducing the rate of the obesity and, consequently, the increased risk of BC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Cortesi
- Department of Oncology and Hematology, University Hospital of Modena, Modena, Italy
| | - Giulia Raffaella Galli
- Breast Unit City of Lecce Hospital, Gruppo Villa Maria (GVM) Care & Research, Lecce, Italy
| | - Federica Domati
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Luana Conte
- Laboratory of Biomedical Physics and Environment, Department of Mathematics and Physics, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy.,Laboratory of Interdisciplinary Research Applied to Medicine, University of Salento and Azienda Sanitaria Locale (ASL), Lecce, Italy
| | - Luigi Manca
- Breast Unit City of Lecce Hospital, Gruppo Villa Maria (GVM) Care & Research, Lecce, Italy
| | - Maria Antonietta Berio
- Breast Unit City of Lecce Hospital, Gruppo Villa Maria (GVM) Care & Research, Lecce, Italy
| | - Angela Toss
- Department of Oncology and Hematology, University Hospital of Modena, Modena, Italy.,Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Anna Iannone
- Department of Surgery, Medicine, Dentistry and Morphological Sciences with Transplant Surgery, Oncology and Regenerative Medicine Relevance, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Massimo Federico
- Breast Unit City of Lecce Hospital, Gruppo Villa Maria (GVM) Care & Research, Lecce, Italy
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Lappano R, Mallet C, Rizzuti B, Grande F, Galli GR, Byrne C, Broutin I, Boudieu L, Eschalier A, Jacquot Y, Maggiolini M. The Peptide ERα17p Is a GPER Inverse Agonist that Exerts Antiproliferative Effects in Breast Cancer Cells. Cells 2019; 8:cells8060590. [PMID: 31207943 PMCID: PMC6627388 DOI: 10.3390/cells8060590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2019] [Accepted: 06/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The inhibition of the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) offers promising perspectives for the treatment of breast tumors. A peptide corresponding to part of the hinge region/AF2 domain of the human estrogen receptor α (ERα17p, residues 295–311) exerts anti-proliferative effects in various breast cancer cells including those used as triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) models. As preliminary investigations have evoked a role for the GPER in the mechanism of action of this peptide, we focused our studies on this protein using SkBr3 breast cancer cells, which are ideal for GPER evaluation. ERα17p inhibits cell growth by targeting membrane signaling. Identified as a GPER inverse agonist, it co-localizes with GPER and induces the proteasome-dependent downregulation of GPER. It also decreases the level of pEGFR (phosphorylation of epidermal growth factor receptor), pERK1/2 (phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase), and c-fos. ERα17p is rapidly distributed in mice after intra-peritoneal injection and is found primarily in the mammary glands. The N-terminal PLMI motif, which presents analogies with the GPER antagonist PBX1, reproduces the effect of the whole ERα17p. Thus, this motif seems to direct the action of the entire peptide, as highlighted by docking and molecular dynamics studies. Consequently, the tetrapeptide PLMI, which can be claimed as the first peptidic GPER disruptor, could open new avenues for specific GPER modulators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosamaria Lappano
- Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy.
| | - Christophe Mallet
- NEURO-DOL Basics & Clinical Pharmacology of Pain, INSERM, CHU, Université Clermont Auvergne, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
- ANALGESIA Institute, Université Clermont Auvergne, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
| | - Bruno Rizzuti
- CNR-NANOTEC, Licryl-UOS Cosenza and CEMIF.Cal, Department of Physics, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy.
| | - Fedora Grande
- Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy.
| | - Giulia Raffaella Galli
- Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy.
| | - Cillian Byrne
- Laboratoire des Biomolécules (LBM), CNRS-UMR 7203, Sorbonne University, Ecole Normale Supérieure, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France.
| | - Isabelle Broutin
- Cibles Thérapeutiques et Conception de Médicaments (CiTCoM), CNRS-UMR 8038, Faculté des Sciences Pharmaceutiques et Biologiques, Université Paris Descartes, 75270 Paris Cedex 06, France.
| | - Ludivine Boudieu
- NEURO-DOL Basics & Clinical Pharmacology of Pain, INSERM, CHU, Université Clermont Auvergne, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
- ANALGESIA Institute, Université Clermont Auvergne, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
| | - Alain Eschalier
- NEURO-DOL Basics & Clinical Pharmacology of Pain, INSERM, CHU, Université Clermont Auvergne, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
- ANALGESIA Institute, Université Clermont Auvergne, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
| | - Yves Jacquot
- Laboratoire des Biomolécules (LBM), CNRS-UMR 7203, Sorbonne University, Ecole Normale Supérieure, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France.
| | - Marcello Maggiolini
- Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy.
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Santolla MF, Vivacqua A, Lappano R, Rigiracciolo DC, Cirillo F, Galli GR, Talia M, Brunetti G, Miglietta AM, Belfiore A, Maggiolini M. GPER Mediates a Feedforward FGF2/FGFR1 Paracrine Activation Coupling CAFs to Cancer Cells toward Breast Tumor Progression. Cells 2019; 8:cells8030223. [PMID: 30866584 PMCID: PMC6468560 DOI: 10.3390/cells8030223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2019] [Revised: 03/01/2019] [Accepted: 03/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The FGF2/FGFR1 paracrine loop is involved in the cross-talk between breast cancer cells and components of the tumor stroma as cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). By quantitative PCR (qPCR), western blot, immunofluorescence analysis, ELISA and ChIP assays, we demonstrated that 17β-estradiol (E2) and the G protein estrogen receptor (GPER) agonist G-1 induce the up-regulation and secretion of FGF2 via GPER together with the EGFR/ERK/c-fos/AP-1 signaling cascade in (ER)-negative primary CAFs. Evaluating the genetic alterations from METABRIC and TCGA datasets, we then assessed that FGFR1 is the most frequently amplified FGFRs family member and its amplification/expression associates with shorter survival rates in breast cancer patients. Therefore, in order to assess the functional FGF2/FGFR1 interplay between CAFs and breast cancer cells, we generated the FGFR1-knockout MDA-MB-231 cells using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing strategy. Using conditioned medium from estrogen-stimulated CAFs, we established that the activation of FGF2/FGFR1 paracrine signaling triggers the expression of the connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), leading to the migration and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells. Our findings shed new light on the role elicited by estrogens through GPER in the activation of the FGF2/FGFR1 signaling. Moreover, our findings may identify further biological targets that could be considered in innovative combination strategies halting breast cancer progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Francesca Santolla
- Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy.
| | - Adele Vivacqua
- Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy.
| | - Rosamaria Lappano
- Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy.
| | | | - Francesca Cirillo
- Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy.
| | - Giulia Raffaella Galli
- Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy.
| | - Marianna Talia
- Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy.
| | - Giuseppe Brunetti
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1180 Vienna, Austria.
| | | | - Antonino Belfiore
- Endocrinology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Garibaldi-Nesima Hospital, 95122 Catania, Italy.
| | - Marcello Maggiolini
- Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy.
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Rigiracciolo DC, Santolla MF, Lappano R, Vivacqua A, Cirillo F, Galli GR, Talia M, Muglia L, Pellegrino M, Nohata N, Di Martino MT, Maggiolini M. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) activation by estrogens involves GPER in triple-negative breast cancer cells. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2019; 38:58. [PMID: 30728047 PMCID: PMC6364402 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-019-1056-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2018] [Accepted: 01/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a cytoplasmatic protein tyrosine kinase that associates with both integrins and growth factor receptors toward the adhesion, migration and invasion of cancer cells. The G-protein coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) has been involved in the stimulatory action of estrogens in breast tumor. In this study, we have investigated the engagement of FAK by GPER signaling in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells. METHODS Publicly available large-scale database and patient data sets derived from "The Cancer Genome Atlas" (TCGA; www.cbioportal.org ) were used to assess FAK expression in TNBC, non-TNBC tumors and normal breast tissues. MDA-MB 231 and SUM159 TNBC cells were used as model system. The levels of phosphorylated FAK, other transduction mediators and target genes were detected by western blotting analysis. Focal adhesion assay was carried out in order to determine the focal adhesion points and the formation of focal adhesions (FAs). Luciferase assays were performed to evaluate the promoters activity of c-FOS, EGR1 and CTGF upon GPER activation. The mRNA expression of the aforementioned genes was measured by real time-PCR. Boyden chamber and wound healing assays were used in order to evaluate cell migration. The statistical analysis was performed by ANOVA. RESULTS We first determined by bioinformatic analysis that the mRNA expression levels of the gene encoding FAK, namely PTK2, is higher in TNBC respect to non-TNBC and normal breast tissues. Next, we found that estrogenic GPER signaling triggers Y397 FAK phosphorylation as well as the increase of focal adhesion points (FAs) in TNBC cells. Besides, we ascertained that GPER and FAK activation are involved in the STAT3 nuclear accumulation and gene expression changes. As biological counterpart, we show that FAK inhibition prevents the migration of TNBC cells upon GPER activation. CONCLUSIONS The present data provide novel insights regarding the action of FAK in TNBC. Moreover, on the basis of our findings estrogenic GPER signaling may be considered among the transduction mechanisms engaging FAK toward breast cancer progression.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Maria Francesca Santolla
- Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036, Rende, Italy
| | - Rosamaria Lappano
- Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036, Rende, Italy
| | - Adele Vivacqua
- Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036, Rende, Italy
| | - Francesca Cirillo
- Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036, Rende, Italy
| | - Giulia Raffaella Galli
- Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036, Rende, Italy
| | - Marianna Talia
- Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036, Rende, Italy
| | - Lucia Muglia
- Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036, Rende, Italy
| | - Michele Pellegrino
- Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036, Rende, Italy
| | | | - Maria Teresa Di Martino
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Graecia University, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy.
| | - Marcello Maggiolini
- Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036, Rende, Italy.
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