Regulation of Estrogen Receptor Alpha Expression in Breast Cancer Cells by Sulforaphane
Sulforaphane (SUL, 1-isothiocyanato-4-(methylsulfinyl) butane) is an isothiocyanate (ITC) derived from glucoraphanin and is abundant in broccoli and broccoli sprouts and it has a variety of potential chemopreventive actions. SUL is capable of inhibiting cancer at both early (initiation) and late (promotion) stages of tumorigenesis. In this study we analyzed the effects of SUL on the cell proliferation of several human breast cancer cell lines and evaluated the effect of SUL on estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) protein and mRNA expression in MCF-7 cells. Our results show that SUL inhibits cell growth and proliferation in several breast cancer cell lines, and that SUL decreases ERalpha protein expression via suppression of mRNA at the transcriptional level as well as increasing proteasome-mediated receptor degradation. These data provide important molecular insight into a possible mechanism by which SUL inhibits cell growth and proliferation in hormone receptor containing breast cancer cells such as MCF-7.
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign