Carcinogenesis Advance Access published online on October 24, 2008
Carcinogenesis, doi:10.1093/carcin/bgn243
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Modulation of Basal and Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Endogenous Estrogen in Mouse Models of Skin Cancer
1 Biotechnology Unit, Ente per le Nuove Tecnologie, l'Energia e l'Ambiente, CR-Casaccia, Rome, Italy
2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
3 Department of Experimental Oncology, Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milan, Italy
To whom correspondence should be addressed: Anna Saran, Biotechnology Unit, ENEA CR-Casaccia, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Rome, Italy. E-mail: saran{at}casaccia.enea.it, Phone: +39 06 30484304, Fax: +39 06 30483644
Patched1 heterozygous mice (Ptch1+/-) are useful for basal cell carcinoma (BCC) studies, being remarkably susceptible to BCC induction by UV or ionizing radiation. Analogously, skin carcinogenesis-susceptible (Car-S) mice are elective for studies of papilloma and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) induction. We previously reported a striking effect of gender on BCC induction in Ptch1+/- mice, with total resistance of females; likewise, Car-S females show increased skin tumor resistance relative to males. Here, we investigated the protective role of endogenous estrogen in skin keratinocyte tumorigenesis. Control and ovariectomized Ptch1+/- or Car-S females were irradiated for BCC induction, or topically treated with chemical carcinogens for SCC induction. Susceptibility to BCC or SCC was dramatically increased in ovariectomized Ptch1+/- and Car-S females, and restored to levels observed in males. Remarkably, progression of initially benign papillomas to malignant SCC occurred only in ovariectomized Car-S females. We explored the mechanisms underlying tumor progression, and report overexpression of ER
, down-regulation of ERβ, and upregulation of cyclin D1 in papillomas from ovariectomized Car-S relative to papillomas from CN females. Thus, an imbalanced ER
/ERβ expression may be associated with estrogen-mediated modulation of non-melanoma skin carcinogenesis, with a key role played by cyclin D1. Our findings underscore a highly protective role of endogenous estrogen against skin tumorigenesis by diverse agents in two independent mouse models of skin cancer.
Key Words: Patched Car-S BCC SCC radiation
4 These authors contributed equally in this work
Received July 16, 2008; revised September 15, 2008; accepted October 19, 2008.
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M. Mancuso, D. Gallo, and A. Saran Re: Modulation of basal and squamous cell carcinoma by endogenous estrogen in mouse models of skin cancer Carcinogenesis, April 1, 2009; 30(4): 721 - 721. [Full Text] [PDF] |
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