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Med1 plays a critical role in the development of tamoxifen resistance

På svenska

Author

  • Arumugam Nagalingam
  • Mourad Tighiouart
  • Lisa Rydén
  • Leena Joseph
  • Göran Landberg
  • Neeraj K. Saxena
  • Dipali Sharma

Summary, in English

Understanding the molecular pathways that contribute to the development of tamoxifen resistance is a critical research priority as acquired tamoxifen resistance is the principal cause of poor prognosis and death of patients with originally good prognosis hormone-responsive breast tumors. In this report, we provide evidence that Med1, an important subunit of mediator coactivator complex, is spontaneously upregulated during acquired tamoxifen-resistance development potentiating agonist activities of tamoxifen. Phosphorylated Med1 and estrogen receptor (ER) are abundant in tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer cells due to persistent activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases. Mechanistically, phosphorylated Med1 exhibits nuclear accumulation, increased interaction with ER and higher tamoxifen-induced recruitment to ER-responsive promoters, which is abrogated by inhibition of Med1 phosphorylation. Stable knockdown of Med1 in tamoxifen-resistant cells not only reverses tamoxifen resistance in vitro but also in vivo. Finally, higher expression levels of Med1 in the tumor significantly correlated with tamoxifen resistance in ER-positive breast cancer patients on adjuvant tamoxifen monotherapy. In silico analysis of breast cancer, utilizing published profiling studies showed that Med1 is overexpressed in aggressive subsets. These findings provide what we believe is the first evidence for a critical role for Med1 in tamoxifen resistance and identify this coactivator protein as an essential effector of the tamoxifen-induced breast cancer growth.

Department/s

Publishing year

2012

Language

English

Pages

918-930

Publication/Series

Carcinogenesis

Volume

33

Issue

4

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Topic

  • Cancer and Oncology

Status

Published

Research group

  • Pathology, Malmö

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0143-3334