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[Cancer Research 62, 4540-4544, August 15, 2002]
© 2002 American Association for Cancer Research


Advances in Brief

Cellular and Molecular Targets of Estrogen in Normal Human Breast Tissue1

Pankaj Seth, Dale Porter, Jaana Lahti-Domenici, Yan Geng, Andrea Richardson and Kornelia Polyak2

Departments of Adult Oncology [P. S., D. P., J. L-D., K. P.] and Cancer Biology [Y. G.], Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital [A. R.]; and Departments of Medicine [P. S., D. P., K. P.] and Pathology [Y. G., A. R.], Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115


    ABSTRACT
 Top
 ABSTRACT
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results and Discussion
 REFERENCES
 
To gain insight into the in vivo role of estrogen, we isolated estrogen receptor-positive cells fromnormal human breast tissue using a recombinant adenovirus that expresses green fluorescence protein in response to estrogen. We compared the global gene expression profile of these estrogen receptor-positive cells with that of various normal and cancerous mammary epithelial cells and identified several genes not implicated previously in estrogen signaling. One of these genes, lipocalin 2, is a putative in vivo estrogen target gene and paracrine factor that mediates the growth regulatory effects of estrogen in normal breast epithelium. These results demonstrate that normal and cancerous estrogen receptor-positive cells are distinct at the molecular level and suggest that lipocalin 2 is a new therapeutic target for breast cancer prevention and treatment.


    Introduction
 Top
 ABSTRACT
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results and Discussion
 REFERENCES
 
Estrogen exposure is one of the most well-recognized risk factors for breast cancer, yet there is relatively little known about the identity of the cells that respond to estrogen in normal breast tissue. The action of estrogen is mediated by its receptors (ER{alpha} and ß), which act as ligand-dependent transcription factors (1) . On the basis of immunohistochemical studies 5–10% of luminal mammary epithelial cells express ER,3 and contrary to ER+ breast cancer cells these normal ER+ cells do not proliferate in response to estrogen (2 , 3) . In contrast, cells surrounding normal ER+ cells are proliferating frequently, indicating that paracrine factors may mediate the mitogenic effects of estrogen in the normal mammary epithelium (3) . To characterize the response to estrogen in normal human breast tissue at the cellular and molecular level, we isolated ER+ cells using a recombinant adenovirus and analyzed their gene expression profiles using SAGE.


    Materials and Methods
 Top
 ABSTRACT
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results and Discussion
 REFERENCES
 
Generation of Recombinant Adenoviruses.
To generate an estrogen-responsive GFP-expressing adenovirus, we pentamerized the 5ERE cassette containing five EREs from the rat PR promoter, fused it to the distal promoter of the rat PR gene, placed it up-stream of a GFP expression cassette derived from pEGFPN1 (Clonetech, Palo Alto, CA), and cloned it into pShuttle plasmid (4) . To generate a lipocalin 2-expressing adenovirus a PCR-derived fragment encoding the human lipocalin 2 protein with a COOH-terminal HA-tag was subcloned into pAdTrack-CMV. Recombinant adenoviruses were generated using the Ad-Easy system (4) .

Cell Culture and Estrogen Treatment.
Breast cancer cell lines were obtained from American Type Culture Collection (Rockville, MD). HME50 myoepithelial cell line was a generous gift of Dr. Shay (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX). Cells were grown in medium recommended by supplier. To assay estrogen responsiveness, breast cancer cells were cultured in phenol red-free RPMI 1640 or DMEM/F12 medium (Life Technologies, Inc. Rockville, MD) supplemented with 5% charcoal dextran-treated fetal bovine serum (Hyclone, Logan, UT) for 7 days after which cells were switched to fresh medium, or fresh medium containing 10 nM estradiol or 10 µM 4-hydroxy-tamoxifen. Cells were collected 16–24 h after hormonal treatment.

Fluorescence Microscopy and FACS Analysis.
For fluorescence microscopy analysis breast cancer cell lines were infected with Ad-25ERE-GFP virus at a multiplicity of infection ~100 and treated with hormones as described above. Images of cells were obtained 48 h after infection and hormone treatment using a Nikon microscope and a SPOT CCD camera (Diagnostics Instruments, Sterling Heights, MI). For FACS analysis cells were collected by trypsinization, resuspended in ice-cold PBS, and analyzed on an Epics flow cytometer (Beckman Coulter, Fullerton, CA). For the generation of SAGE libraries ~100,000 GFP-positive cells were sorted into medium followed by centrifugation and freezing on dry ice.

Western Blot Analysis.
For immunoblot analysis cell extracts were resolved by PAGE, transferred to Immobilon membranes, and blotted with antihuman ER (Ab-11, clone1D5; Neomarkers, Fremont, CA) or antihuman-tubulin (Ab-3, clone DM1B; Neomarkers) antibodies.

Generation and Analysis of SAGE Libraries.
Normal human mammary epithelium was collected from 18–24-year-old healthy women undergoing reduction mammoplasty at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital using protocols approved by the Institutional Review Board. Organoids were isolated as described previously (5) except that cells were trypsinized and resuspended in phenol red-free DMEM/F12 medium (Life Technologies, Inc.) supplemented with MEGM SingleQuots (Clonetics, Walkersville, MD) and 20 nM of estradiol. Immediately after plating, cells were infected with Ad-25ERE-GFP adenovirus at a multiplicity of infection of ~100. Later (48 h), cells were trypsinized and GFP-positive cells (~100,000 cells) were sorted out by FACS followed by mRNA preparation using µMACS kit (Miltenyi Biotec, Auburn, CA) or Western blot analysis. SAGE libraries were generated and analyzed as described previously (5 , 6) . NER+-specific genes listed in Table 1Citation were selected based on pair-wise comparison and Monte Carlo analysis between the NER+ library and each of the SAGE libraries listed in Table 1Citation .


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Table 1 Transcripts specifically or most abundantly expressed in normal estrogen-responsive cells

 
RNA Isolation, RT-PCR, and Northern Blot Analysis.
RNA isolation, RT-PCR, and Northern blot analyses were performed as described (5) .

mRNA in Situ Hybridization and Immunohistochemical Analysis.
mRNA in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical analysis of adjacent sections using anti-ER{alpha} antibody (clone 1D5; Dako, Carpinteria, CA) was performed as described (6) .

Generation of Lipocalin 2 Mammalian Expression Constructs and Colony Assays.
For constitutive expression the human lipocalin 2 cDNA with a COOH-terminal HA tag was subcloned into pCEP4 (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA). For colony assay experiments cells were transfected with pCEP4 (control) or pCEP4-lipocalin-HA constructs using FuGene6 (Roche, Indianapolis, IN) followed by selection in hygromycin containing medium for 2 weeks after which colonies were visualized by crystal violet staining. Expression of lipocalin 2 was confirmed by Western blot analysis of cells and medium using anti-HA antibody (Covance, Richmond, CA). Conditioned medium was generated by infecting COS7 cells with recombinant adenoviruses expressing GFP or lipocalin 2-HA. Filtered medium collected 3–4 days after infection was applied to MCF10A cells. Colonies were visualized by crystal violet staining after 7 days.

Generation of Lipocalin 2 Promoter Reporter Constructs and Luciferase Assays.
Lipocalin 2 promoter reporter constructs were generated by subcloning a PCR generated fragment containing the proximal lipocalin 2 promoter region with (-916 to +50) or without (-800 to +50) the putative ERE into pBRpl-luc (7) . Cells were transfected using FuGene6 (Roche), treated with 10 nM estrogen, 1 µM ICI 128,780, or 10 µM 4-hydroxy tamoxifen, and luciferase and ß-galactosidase activities were determined 48 h after transfection using a luciferase assay system (Promega, Madison, WI) and the Aurora GAL-XE reporter gene assay (ICN, Irvine, CA), respectively. The statistical significance of the differences between the estrogen responsiveness of the two constructs was determined using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. The untreated and estrogen-treated, and the ICI and tamoxifen-treated samples were combined into one group for each construct to achieve the sample numbers necessary for the analysis.


    Results and Discussion
 Top
 ABSTRACT
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results and Discussion
 REFERENCES
 
Generation and Characterization of the Ad-25ERE-GFP.
To isolate ER+ cells from normal human breast tissue, we developed a recombinant adenovirus (Ad-25ERE-GFP) that expresses the GFP gene only in the presence of ER and estrogen (Fig. 1A)Citation . The ER and estrogen dependency of Ad-25ERE-GFP was confirmed by infecting various estrogen receptor-positive and -negative human breast cell lines in the presence or absence of estrogen or tamoxifen (Fig. 1, BCitation and C; data not shown). To demonstrate that we can identify estrogen-responsive cells from a mixture of ER-positive and ER-negative cells using this adenovirus and FACS, we mixed Ad-25ERE-GFP-infected and estrogen-treated HME50 (ER-) and T47D (ER+) cells at a 10:1 ratio, collected GFP-positive and GFP-negative fractions by FACS, and analyzed their cellular composition (Fig. 1, D and E)Citation . The two cell types were differentiated by RT-PCR analysis using cell type-specific genes. HME50 myoepithelial cells express the Calla/CD10 gene but not the PR, whereas T47D cells express the PR+, but not Calla/CD10 (Fig. 1E)Citation . We detected PR+ T47D but no Calla/CD10+ HME50 cells in the GFP-positive fraction, whereas both cell types were found in the GFP-negative population (Fig. 1E)Citation confirming that estrogen-responsive ER+ cells can be isolated based on GFP fluorescence from a mixture of ER+ and ER- cells using the Ad-25ERE-GFP adenovirus.



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Fig. 1. Generation and characterization of the Ad-25ERE-GFP adenovirus and immunoblot, and RT-PCR analysis of Ad-25ERE-GFP-infected estrogen-treated normal human mammary epithelial cells. A, schematic of the Ad-25ERE-GFP virus indicating the location and number of EREs (ERE1–5) and promoter region (PR. Promoter) derived from the rat PR gene and the GFP expression cassette. B, fluorescence microscopic analysis of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cell lines T47D, ZR75–1, and BT474 infected with control CMV-GFP (Ad-CMV-GFP) or Ad-25ERE-GFP adenoviruses in the presence or absence of estrogen or tamoxifen. As demonstrated by the number of green cells, estrogen or tamoxifen treatment led to a significant increase in 25ERE promoter activity in all three of the breast cancer cell lines. This increase could be detected by FACS analysis as well (data not shown). C, FACS analysis of untreated (control) and estrogen-treated ER+ (T47D), and ER- (HME50) cells infected with Ad-25ERE-GFP or Ad-CMV-GFP adenoviruses. D, a 1:10 mixture of estrogen-treated and Ad-25ERE-GFP-infected T47D and HME50 cell lines was subjected to cell sorting, and fluorescent (GFPpos) and not fluorescent (GFPneg) cells were collected for additional analysis. E, RT-PCR analysis of T47D, HME50, and sorted GFP-positive and GFP-negative cells using genes specific for HME50 (Calla) and T47D (PR) cells. ß-Actin was used as positive control. F, FACS analysis of untreated and estrogen-treated Ad-25ERE-GFP infected normal mammary epithelial cells. The GFP-positive fraction (1.39% of the cells in the estrogen-treated sample) collected for additional analysis is indicated. G, GFP-positive normal mammary epithelial cells were isolated by FACS and used for Western blot analysis with anti-ER{alpha} antibody. MCF7 cells were used as positive control; blot was probed with ß-tubulin to indicate protein loading. H, RT-PCR analysis of unsorted and GFP-positive sorted cells using luminal (HIN-1) and myoepithelial (Calla/CD10) cell-specific genes. Sorted 1 and Sorted 2 refer to cells obtained in two independent experiments. ß-Actin was used as positive control.

 
To isolate ER+ estrogen-responsive cells from normal human breast tissue we infected freshly isolated mammary epithelial cells with Ad-25ERE-GFP in the presence of estrogen. Two days after treatment we detected a small but distinct population of GFP-positive cells both by fluorescence microscopy and by FACS analysis (Fig. 1FCitation ; data not shown). The intensity of GFP fluorescence was much weaker in these cells than in ER+ breast cancer cell lines, which is likely because of the presence of fewer estrogen receptors in NER+ cells when compared with ER+ breast cancer cells (Fig. 1G)Citation . To demonstrate that these GFP-positive cells express ER, we performed immunoblot analysis of cell extracts from unsorted and GFP-positive sorted cells (Fig. 1G)Citation . We detected a Mr ~67,000 anti-ER reactive band in GFP-positive sorted cells but not in unsorted cells, confirming the enrichment of ER+ cells in the GFP-positive population. As an additional test, we determined whether the GFP-positive cells have luminal or myoepithelial characteristics, because ER-positive cells are known to have luminal features. We analyzed unsorted and GFP-positive sorted cells from two different experiments by RT-PCR using luminal (HIN-1) and myoepithelial (Calla/CD10) cell-specific markers (3 , 5) . GFP-positive cells only expressed HIN-1 confirming that they are comprised of luminal epithelial cells, whereas the unsorted fraction was a mixture of luminal and myoepithelial cells (Fig. 1H)Citation .

Gene Expression Profile of Estrogen-responsive Cells Isolated from Normal Breast Tissue.
To characterize these NER+ cells at the molecular level we generated SAGE libraries from estrogen treated Ad-25ERE-GFP-infected and GFP-positive cells using a modified micro-SAGE protocol (5 , 6) . We obtained 34,632 SAGE tags from the NER+ SAGE library enabling us to analyze the expression levels of close to 14,000 unique transcripts. Because the SAGE tag numbers directly reflect the abundance of the mRNAs, SAGE data obtained from different experiments are directly comparable. Therefore, to identify genes only or most abundantly expressed in NER+ cells, we compared the NER+ SAGE library to several other SAGE libraries generated by us or available from public sources (5 , 7 , 8) . These included SAGE libraries generated from normal luminal mammary epithelial cells (N1 and N2), ductal carcinoma in situ (D1 and D2), invasive breast carcinomas (I1 and I2), lymph node metastases (M1 and M2), and ER+ breast cancer cell lines (ZR75–1 and MCF-7) in the absence (ZU and MU) or presence of estrogen (ZE, ME3, and ME10) or tamoxifen (ZT). Among these samples, normal luminal epithelial cells, and tumors D1, I1, and M1 were exclusively or mostly ER-, whereas tumors D2, I2, M2, and the two cell lines were ER+. On the basis of pair-wise comparisons and statistical analysis we identified 35 transcripts that were only or most abundantly present in NER+ cells (Table 1)Citation . Genes expressed in NER+ cells were of diverse cellular function, and almost none of them corresponded to estrogen target genes characterized previously. However, several of these genes have been shown to be highly expressed in estrogen target organs including the mammary gland, uterus, and ovaries. Claudin-4, kallikrein 5, S100A2, and HE4 were found to be up-regulated in ovarian carcinomas when compared with corresponding normal tissue (9 , 10) . Similarly the expression of keratins 5/6 and 16, S100A2, and lipocalin 2 was found to be different in normal mammary epithelium, and benign and malignant breast tumors (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) . Two of the genes, GABA A receptor {pi} subunit and lipocalin 2 have been implicated in steroid hormone signaling. GABA A receptor is particularly abundant in the uterus, its protein level fluctuates during pregnancy, and it may be involved in binding endogenous steroids such as pregnenolone (16 , 17) . The expression of lipocalin 2 (oncogene 24p3) has been demonstrated to fluctuate during the estrous cycle in mice with the highest expression correlating with the estradiol surge in proestrus (18) . Moreover, the uterine expression of lipocalin 2 was completely dependent on ovarian steroids, because it disappeared in ovariectomized mice (18) .

Normal and Cancerous Estrogen-responsive Cells Show Distinct Gene Expression Patterns.
To additionally investigate the genes highly abundant in NER+ cells, we analyzed their expression levels by Northern blot analysis using RNA prepared from multiple organoids and breast cancer cell lines (Fig. 2ACitation ; data not shown). Organoids are breast ducts composed of luminal and myoepithelial cells with a fraction of luminal epithelial cells being ER+. Correlating with the SAGE data many of the genes we identified were highly expressed in normal mammary organoids but not in ER+ breast cancer cell lines (Fig. 2A)Citation . In contrast, 5 of 12 ER-negative breast cancer cell lines expressed high levels of lipocalin 2 (data not shown) suggesting that its lack of expression in ER+ breast cancer cell lines is unlikely to be only because of differences between normal and cancer cells. We also determined the expression of genes that SAGE predicted to be expressed in ER+ breast cancers but not in NER+ cells, or expressed in both cell types. These former genes included trefoil factors 1 (pS2) and 3, intestinal cysteine rich protein 1, and fatty acid synthase, whereas the later ones included heat-shock proteins 10 and 27 (Hsp 10 and Hsp 27), and Mat-8 phospholemma-like protein (Fig. 2A)Citation . These Northern blot results confirmed our previous findings that ER+ cells from normal and cancerous mammary epithelium each express a unique set of genes that could explain their differing response to estrogen.



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Fig. 2. Northern blot and functional analysis of estrogen-responsive genes. A, expression of the indicated genes in various human estrogen-treated estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cell lines and in estrogen-treated normal organoids. B, analysis of lipocalin 2 and S100A2 mRNA levels in virgin (V), ovariectomized (Ov), ovariectomized and estrogen-treated for 6 h (Ov+E6 h), ovariectomized and estrogen treated for 12 h (Ov+E12 h), and in lactating (L) mouse mammary glands. C, expression of lipocalin 2 in the mouse mammary gland during pregnancy. D, mRNA in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical analysis of normal breast tissue using the indicated probes and antibody. Arrow indicates a strongly ER+ lobule highly expressing lipocalin 2 and S100A2. E, the effect of exogenous lipocalin 2 treatment on colony numbers in MCF10A ER- normal immortalized mammary epithelial cell line. Y axis indicates the number of colonies/well of a six-well plate treated with control (GFP) or lipocalin 2 (LIPO) containing conditioned medium. Figure represents results of a representative experiment; similar results were obtained in three independent experiments; bars, ±SD.

 
To investigate additionally the link between estrogen signaling and the expression of some of the genes highly abundant in NER+ cells, we analyzed the expression pattern of their orthologues in mammary glands of virgin, ovariectomized-untreated and estrogen-treated, pregnant, and lactating mice (Fig. 2, B and C)Citation . The expression of lipocalin 2 and, to a lesser degree, S100A2 appeared to be dependent on the presence of estrogen (Fig. 2B)Citation . In addition, the mRNA levels of lipocalin 2 were highly induced in lactating mouse mammary gland and gradually increased during pregnancy, but because of the multiple hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy it is not possible to attribute the changes seen to estrogen only (Fig. 2, B and C)Citation . Thus, some of these genes could be valid in vivo targets of ER in the normal mammary gland.

Lipocalin 2 Is a New Candidate in Vivo Estrogen Target Gene.
To demonstrate that at least some of the genes we isolated are expressed in ER+ cells in vivo we performed mRNA in situ hybridization studies. We detected strong hybridization signal in a fraction of normal luminal epithelial cells using antisense lipocalin 2 and S100A2 probes, whereas hybridization with sense probes gave no or a much fainter background signal (Fig. 2D)Citation . Immunohistochemical analysis of adjacent sections using anti-ER antibodies suggested that both lipocalin 2 and S100A2, and ER are expressed in an overlapping subset of luminal mammary epithelial cells (Fig. 2D)Citation . Lipocalin 2 has been demonstrated to up-regulate its own expression through an autocrine mechanism that could lead to elevated lipocalin 2 levels in ER-negative cells (19) . Thus, lipocalin 2 may be more abundantly but not exclusively expressed in ER-positive cells.

Among the genes we identified lipocalin 2 appeared to be particularly interesting because of several features. Lipocalin 2 is a secreted protein and, therefore, may be a paracrine factor expressed by NER+ cells that affects the surrounding mammary epithelial cells. On the basis of prior studies lipocalin 2 may play a role in the regulation of cell proliferation and survival (20, 21, 22, 23) . Lipocalins are extracellular carriers of lipophilic molecules such as retinoids, steroids, and fatty acids, all of which are known to play important roles in the regulation of mammary cell growth (22 , 24) . To determine the effect of lipocalin 2 expression on mammary cell growth in vitro, we performed colony growth assays in MCF10A cells, a normal, immortalized ER- mammary epithelial cell line. We observed a 2–3-fold increase in colony numbers in cells constitutively expressing lipocalin 2 (data not shown), but the efficiency of obtaining stable colonies in MCF10A cells is very low making this result difficult to interpret. To determine whether exogenous treatment with lipocalin 2 would have similar effects to that of lipocalin 2 overexpression, we incubated MCF10A cells with conditioned medium obtained from GFP- or lipocalin 2-expressing cells. Similar to lipocalin 2 overexpression, exogenous addition of lipocalin 2 to MCF10A cells enhanced their growth (Fig. 2E)Citation consistent with a paracrine mechanism of lipocalin 2 action. Although the ligand of lipocalin 2 and its mechanism of action are unknown, based on our colony growth experiments lipocalin 2 promotes the proliferation of ER- mammary epithelial cells.

To additionally analyze the relationship between lipocalin 2 expression and estrogen signaling, we analyzed the promoter region of the mouse and human lipocalin 2 genes, and identified a putative ERE with an almost perfect consensus ERE in both cases (Fig. 3A)Citation . To determine whether the putative ERE from the human gene can confer estrogen responsiveness to an exogenous gene, we placed the proximal lipocalin 2 promoter region containing or lacking this ERE up-stream of a luciferase gene (Fig. 3B)Citation . Measurement of luciferase activity after transient transfection of these constructs with cotransfection of ER in HepG2 human hepatoma cells revealed that the construct containing the ERE demonstrated modest ER responsiveness even in the absence of estrogen, which was abolished by the deletion of this sequence or the addition of estrogen antagonists ICI 128,780 and tamoxifen (Fig. 3C)Citation . Although the observed induction was modest, the differences seen in the fold induction between the Lipo-wtERE-luc and Lipo-delERE-luc constructs, and between the untreated or estrogen-treated and the antiestrogen-treated groups were statistically significant (P < 0.001 for both cases based on Wilcoxon rank sum test). Similar results were obtained in T47D, MCF-7, and BT474 ER+ breast cancer cell lines (data not shown).



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Fig. 3. Lipocalin 2 is a putative direct estrogen-receptor target. A, sequence and location of putative EREs in the mouse and human lipocalin 2 genes. B, schematics of lipocalin 2 promoter luciferase reporter constructs. C, results of luciferase assays after transient transfections of HepG2 cells with the indicated constructs in the presence of the indicated ligands. EST, estrogen; ICI, ICI 128,780; and TAM, 4-hydroxy-tamoxifen. Fold induction as compared with cells transfected with the reporter construct alone is indicated on the Y axis. Numbers are average of two to five independent experiments performed in triplicate; bars, ±SD. Luciferase activity was normalized for transfection efficiency by using a ratio of luciferase to ß-galactosidase activity.

 
In summary, we isolated and characterized estrogen-responsive cells form normal human mammary epithelium and identified lipocalin 2 as a candidate paracrine factor that may mediate estrogen-induced proliferation in the normal mammary epithelium. Additional studies are required to determine the role of lipocalin 2 in estrogen signaling and the biochemical mechanism by which it influences cell growth. However, because lipocalin 2 is a secreted protein, it represents an attractive target for breast cancer prevention and treatment.


    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 
We thank Drs. Ian Krop, Bill Sellers, and Myles Brown for their critical review of the manuscript.


    FOOTNOTES
 
The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

1 Supported in part by the Sidney Kimmel Foundation, the National Cancer Institute Specialized Programs of Research Excellence in Breast Cancer and Cancer Gene Anatomy Project (to K. P.), and by a United States Department of Defense postdoctoral fellowship (DAMD17-01-1-0221 to P. S.) Back

2 To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 44 Binney Street, D740C, Boston, MA 02115. E-mail: Kornelia_Polyak{at}dfci.harvard.edu Back

3 The abbreviations used are: ER, estrogen receptor {alpha}; SAGE, serial analysis of gene expression; GFP, green fluorescence protein; ERE, estrogen-responsive element; CMV, cytomegalovirus; FACS, fluorescence-activated cell sorter; HA, hemaglutinine; PR, progesterone receptor; NER, normal estrogen receptor. Back

Received 3/19/02. Accepted 7/ 2/02.


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 Results and Discussion
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M. Hu, G. Peluffo, H. Chen, R. Gelman, S. Schnitt, and K. Polyak
Role of COX-2 in epithelial-stromal cell interactions and progression of ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast
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Reproductive SciencesHome page
R. F. Savaris, A. E. Hamilton, B. A. Lessey, and L. C. Giudice
Endometrial Gene Expression in Early Pregnancy: Lessons From Human Ectopic Pregnancy
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Endocr Relat CancerHome page
C L Wilson, A H Sims, A Howell, C J Miller, and R B Clarke
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A. J M O'Donnell, K. G Macleod, D. J Burns, J. F Smyth, and S. P Langdon
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J. Biol. Chem.Home page
J.-i. Hanai, T. Mammoto, P. Seth, K. Mori, S. A. Karumanchi, J. Barasch, and V. P. Sukhatme
Lipocalin 2 Diminishes Invasiveness and Metastasis of Ras-transformed Cells
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Toxicol PatholHome page
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Cancer Res.Home page
H. Zhang, S.-Q. Kuang, L. Liao, S. Zhou, and J. Xu
Haploid Inactivation of the Amplified-in-Breast Cancer 3 Coactivator Reduces the Inhibitory Effect of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor {gamma} and Retinoid X Receptor on Cell Proliferation and Accelerates Polyoma Middle-T Antigen-Induced Mammary Tumorigenesis in Mice
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R. O'Lone, M. C. Frith, E. K. Karlsson, and U. Hansen
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Am. J. Pathol.Home page
L. Shan, M. Yu, H. A.J. Schut, and E. G. Snyderwine
Susceptibility of Rats to Mammary Gland Carcinogenesis by the Food-Derived Carcinogen 2-Amino-1-Methyl-6-Phenylimidazo[4,5-b]Pyridine (PhIP) Varies with Age and Is Associated with the Induction of Differential Gene Expression
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Cancer Res.Home page
S.-C. J. Lin, K.-F. Lee, A. Yu. Nikitin, S. G. Hilsenbeck, R. D. Cardiff, A. Li, K.-W. Kang, S. A. Frank, W.-H. Lee, and E. Y-H. P. Lee
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S.-Q. Kuang, L. Liao, H. Zhang, A. V. Lee, B. W. O'Malley, and J. Xu
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B. M. Wittmann, N. Wang, and M. M. Montano
Identification of a Novel Inhibitor of Breast Cell Growth That Is Down-Regulated by Estrogens and Decreased in Breast Tumors
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Nucleic Acids ResHome page
V. B. Bajic, S. L. Tan, A. Chong, S. Tang, A. Strom, J.-A. Gustafsson, C.-Y. Lin, and E. T. Liu
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Cancer Res.Home page
L. H. Wang, X. Y. Yang, X. Zhang, K. Mihalic, W. Xiao, and W. L. Farrar
The cis Decoy against the Estrogen Response Element Suppresses Breast Cancer Cells via Target Disrupting c-fos not Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Activity
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CarcinogenesisHome page
K. Meyer, J.-S. Lee, P. A. Dyck, W.-Q. Cao, M.S. Rao, S. S. Thorgeirsson, and J. K. Reddy
Molecular profiling of hepatocellular carcinomas developing spontaneously in acyl-CoA oxidase deficient mice: comparison with liver tumors induced in wild-type mice by a peroxisome proliferator and a genotoxic carcinogen
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