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Hepatotoxicity is one of the most common toxicities observed in non-clinical safety studies of drug candidates, and it is important to understand the hepatotoxicity mechanism to assess the risk of drug-induced liver injury in humans. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of hepatotoxicity caused by 2-[2-Methyl-1-(oxan-4-yl)-1H-benzimidazol-5-yl]-1,3-benzoxazole (DSP-0640), a drug candidate that showed hepatotoxicity characterized by centrilobular hypertrophy and vacuolation of hepatocytes in a 4-week oral repeated-dose toxicity study in male rats. In the liver of rats treated with DSP-0640, the expression of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) target genes, including Cyp1a1, was upregulated. In in vitro reporter assays, however, DSP-0640 showed only minimal AHR-activating potency. Therefore, we investigated the possibility that DSP-0640 indirectly activated AHR by inhibiting the CYP1 enzyme-dependent clearance of endogenous AHR agonists. In in vitro assays, DSP-0640 showed inhibitory effects on both rat and human CYP1A1 and enhanced rat and human AHR-mediated reporter gene expression induced by 6-formylindolo[3,2-b]carbazole, a well-known endogenous AHR agonist. The possible involvement of CYP1A1 inhibition in AHR activation was also demonstrated with other hepatotoxic compounds tacrine and albendazole. These results suggest that CYP1A1 inhibition-mediated AHR activation is involved in the hepatotoxicity caused by DSP-0640 and that DSP-0640 might induce hepatotoxicity in humans as well. We propose that CYP1A1 inhibition-mediated AHR activation is a novel mechanism for drug-induced hepatotoxicity.

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that regulates various toxicological and biological functions. We reported previously that 3-methylcholanthrene (3MC), an exogenous AhR agonist, inhibited tumorsphere (mammosphere) formation from breast cancer cell lines, while the endogenous AhR agonist, indirubin, very weakly inhibited this process. However, the difference in inhibition mechanism of mammosphere formation by 3MC or indirubin is still unknown. In this study, we established AhR-re-expressing (KOTR-AhR) cells from AhR knockout MCF-7 cells using the tetracycline (Tet)-inducible gene expression systems. To identify any difference in inhibition of mammosphere formation by 3MC or indirubin, RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) experiments were performed using KOTR-AhR cells. RNA-seq experiments revealed that cell division cycle 20 (CDC20), which regulates the cell cycle and mitosis, was decreased by 3MC, but not by indirubin, in the presence of AhR expression. Furthermore, the mRNA and protein levels of CDC20 were decreased by 3MC in MCF-7 cells via the AhR. In addition, mammosphere formation was suppressed by small interfering RNA-mediated CDC20 knockdown compared to the negative control in MCF-7 cells. These results suggest that AhR activation by 3MC suppresses mammosphere formation via downregulation of CDC20 expression in breast cancer cells. This study provides useful information for the development of AhR-targeted anti-cancer drugs.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women worldwide. Despite a variety of drugs available for the treatment of patients with breast cancer, drug resistance remains a significant clinical problem. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop drugs with new mechanisms of action. Camalexin is the main indole phytoalexin in Arabidopsis thaliana and other crucifers. Camalexin inhibits the proliferation of various cancer cells. However, the mechanism by which camalexin inhibits cell proliferation remains unclear. In this study, we found that camalexin inhibited cell proliferation and migration of breast cancer cell lines. Furthermore, camalexin also suppressed breast cancer stem cell-derived mammosphere formation. We previously reported that the ligand-activated transcription factor aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) agonist suppresses mammosphere formation. Several compounds with indole structures are known to act as AhR agonists. Therefore, we hypothesized that the inhibition of mammosphere formation by camalexin may involve AhR activation. We found that camalexin increased the nuclear translocation of AhR, AhR-mediated transcriptional activation, and expression of AhR target genes. In addition, camalexin suppressed mammosphere formation in AhR-expressing breast cancer cells more than in the breast cancer cells that lacked AhR expression. Taken together, the data demonstrate that camalexin is a novel AhR agonist and that the inhibition of cell proliferation, migration, and mammosphere formation by camalexin involves the activation of AhR. Our findings suggest that camalexin, an AhR agonist, may be a novel therapeutic agent for breast cancer.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) contribute to the drug resistance, recurrence, and metastasis of breast cancers. Recently, we demonstrated that HER2 overexpression increases mammosphere formation via the activation of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR). In this study, the objective was to identify the mechanism underlying mammosphere maintenance mediated by HER2 signaling-activated AHR. We compared the chromatin structure of AHR-knockout (AHRKO) HER2-overexpressing MCF-7 (HER2-5) cells with that of wild-type HER2-5 cells; subsequently, we identified TP63, a stemness factor, as a potential target gene of AHR. ΔNp63 mRNA and protein levels were higher in HER2-5 cells than in HER2-5/AHRKO cells. Activation of HER2/HER3 signaling by heregulin treatment increased ΔNp63 mRNA levels, and its induction was decreased by AHR knockdown in HER2-5 cells. The results of the chromatin immunoprecipitation assay revealed an interaction between AHR and the intronic region of TP63, which encodes ΔNp63. A luciferase reporter gene assay with the intronic region of TP63 showed that AHR expression increased reporter activity. Collectively, our findings suggest that HER2-activated AHR upregulates ΔNp63 expression and that this signaling cascade is involved in CSC maintenance in HER2-expressing breast cancers.

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that mediates the toxicity of dioxins and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Recent studies have suggested that AhR is involved in cancer immunity. In the present study, we examined whether AhR regulates the expression of immune checkpoint genes in breast cancer cells. We discovered that the mRNA expression of V-set domain containing T cell activation inhibitor 1 (VTCN1) that negatively regulates T cell immunity was upregulated by AhR agonists in breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7 and T47D. Furthermore, AhR knockout or knockdown experiments clearly demonstrated that upregulation of VTCN1 gene expression by 3-methylcholanthrene was AhR dependent. Luciferase reporter and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays revealed that this upregulation of VTCN1 gene expression was induced by the recruitment of AhR to the AhR responsive element in the VTCN1 gene promoter in MCF-7 cells. Taken together, AhR directly regulates VTCN1 gene expression in MCF-7 cells.

Constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) is a nuclear receptor that plays a key role in drug metabolism and disposition and in the development of liver tumors in rodents. CAR is activated by ligands and indirect activators, which do not bind to the receptor but activate it through cellular signaling. In this study, we sought to identify direct and indirect activators of rat CAR (rCAR). Assessment of the influence of mutations on the transcriptional activity of rCAR identified a mutant termed rCAR-3A-G354Q that displays low constitutive activity and high ligand responsiveness. Reporter assays using the mutant were performed with compounds that increased the mRNA levels of Cyp2b1, a CAR target gene, in rat primary hepatocytes. Several compounds activated rCAR-3A-G354Q and were implicated as rCAR ligands. Since indirect CAR activators are considered to display little species differences, we then determined CYP2B6 mRNA levels in human hepatocyte-like HepaRG cells after treatment with compounds that increased Cyp2b1 mRNA levels in rat hepatocytes but did not activate rCAR-3A-G354Q. The results demonstrated six compounds as possible rCAR indirect activators. Taken together, the combined measurement of Cyp2b1 mRNA levels in rat primary hepatocytes and rCAR-3A-G354Q activation in reporter assays can be useful for evaluating rCAR activation by chemicals.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is associated with poor prognosis, because of no effective targeted therapy. In the present study, we demonstrated the crucial role of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in mediating the effects of the chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin (DOX) in the chemotherapeutic sensitivity of TNBC. Firstly, we established AhR knockout (KO) MDA-MB 231 TNBC cells. The cytotoxic effects of DOX were more pronounced in AhR KO cells than in parental cells. In addition, our results indicated that AhR KO cells showed downregulated expression of DOX-metabolism enzyme, aldo-keto reductase (AKR) 1C3, relative to those of parental cells. Furthermore, AhR was found to enhance AKR1C3 promoter reporter activity, suggesting that AKR1C3 mRNA transcription is activated by AhR. Additionally, our findings confirmed that the downregulation of AKR1C3 expression enhanced DOX sensitivity in MDA-MB 231 cells. Finally, AhR and AKR1C3 expression were positively correlated in human breast cancer. Taken together, our results suggested that AhR is involved in DOX sensitivity by regulating AKR1C3 expression in TNBC cells.

Recently, selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs), which bind to AR and act in a tissue/effect-specific manner, have been developed, but the selective mechanism is not well understood. In this study, we investigated the selective mechanism using the synthetic steroid YK11, which showed AR-mediated gene-selective transactivation. In the AR-positive human breast cancer MDA-MB-453 cells, different patterns of AR-mediated target gene expression and AR recruitment to their enhancer regions were observed between DHT and YK11. A docking study suggested the helices 11 and 12 was moved by the sterically hindered C17-group of YK11. Furthermore, the mutational studies of AR Gln902 and mammalian two-hybrid assays suggested different cofactor recruitment between DHT and YK11. The results of this study suggest that gene selective regulation by SARMs results from differential DNA-binding and/or cofactor recruitment by ligands. These results provide novel insights into the mechanism of action of SARMs.

We had previously reported that treatment with the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) agonist β-naphthoflavone (βNF) suppressed mammosphere formation derived from cancer stem cells in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells (Cancer Lett., 317, 2012, Zhao et al.). Here, using several AHR agonists, we have investigated the association of this suppression with the classical ability to induce AHR-mediated gene transcription in the xenobiotic response element (XRE). The mammosphere formation assays were performed using wild-type and AHR-knockout MCF-7 cells in the presence of AHR agonists including 3-methylcholanthrene (3MC), benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA), 6-formylindolo[3,2-b]carbazole (FICZ), indirubin, indole-3-carbinol (I3C), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and kynurenine (KYN), followed by the XRE-reporter gene assays of the agonists. We showed that treatments with 3MC, BaP, and DMBA strongly suppressed mammosphere formation of the stem cells in an AHR-dependent manner, while other agonists showed weaker suppression. In reporter gene assays, the strength or duration of AHR/XRE-mediated gene transcription was found to be dependent on the agonist. Although strong transcriptional activation was observed with 3MC, FICZ, indirubin, I3C, IAA, or KYN after 6 h of treatment, only weak activation was seen with BaP or DMBA. While transcriptional activation was sustained or increased at 24 h with 3MC, BaP, or DMBA, appreciable reduction was observed with the other agonists. In conclusions, the results demonstrated that the suppressive effects of AHR agonists on mammosphere formation do not necessarily correlate with their abilities to induce AHR-mediated gene transcription. Hence, different AHR functions may be differentially induced in an agonist-dependent manner.

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) regulates expression of genes encoding drug/xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes. Cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A5 is involved in drug metabolism. However, regulation of CYP3A5 gene expression is not yet well understood. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of the ligands of AhR on CYP3A5 gene expression. CYP3A5 mRNA expression was induced by the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) such as 3-methylcholanthrene (3MC) and benzo[a]pyrene in HepG2 cells. To determine whether the PAHs induced CYP3A5 gene expression via AhR, we generated AhR knockout (AhR KO) HepG2 cells. CYP3A5 mRNA expression was not induced by 3MC treatment in AhR KO cells. In addition, we generated AhR rescue cells from AhR KO cells and evaluated CYP3A5 mRNA expression. We found that CYP3A5 mRNA expression was induced by 3MC treatment in AhR rescue cells. Taken together, these results demonstrated that CYP3A5 mRNA expression was induced by PAHs via AhR in HepG2 cells. Our findings suggest that ligand-activated AhR affects CYP3A5-mediated drug metabolism.

Long-term administration of some antiepileptic drugs often increases blood lipid levels. In this study, we investigated its molecular mechanism by focusing on the nuclear receptors constitutive active/androstane receptor (CAR) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor

The constitutive active/androstane receptor (CAR) controls genes involved in xenochemical metabolism. Although numerous cofactors have been reported to be involved in CAR-mediated transactivation, unknown and poorly defined proteins recruited by CAR have yet to be characterized. In this study, a novel CAR-interacting protein, cell cycle and apoptosis regulator 1 (CCAR1), was identified by coimmunoprecipitation analysis using human hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cells expressing FLAG epitope-tagged CAR. We demonstrated that CCAR1 can act as an enhancer-dependent coactivator of CAR. First, we showed that overexpression of CCAR1 enhanced CAR-induced reporter gene activity with triplicate consensus direct repeat 4 motif (DR4-Luc), xenobiotic-responsive enhancer module (XREM)-enhancer of CYP3A4 (XREM-Luc), and phenobarbital-responsive enhancer module of UDP-glucuronosyltransferases 1A1 (UGT1A1) (gtPBREM)-enhancer of UGT1A1 (gtPBREM-Luc)-driven reporter plasmids but not PBREM-enhancer of CYP2B6 (PBREM-Luc)-driven reporter activity. Furthermore, we showed that knockdown of CCAR1 suppressed CAR-induced UGT1A1 mRNA expression but did not affect CAR-induced CYP2B6 mRNA expression in HepTR/CAR and HepaRG cells. Moreover, CCAR1 could be recruited to the gtPBREM of the UGT1A1 enhancer by CAR but not to the PBREM of the CYP2B6 enhancer. Moreover, we showed that CCAR1 can act as a secondary coactivator by cooperating with the p160 family of steroid receptor coactivators (SRCs). These findings demonstrated CCAR1 to be a novel transcriptional cofactor for CAR and provided insight regarding the mechanism of CAR-mediated gene-selective transactivation.

Anemia is a well-observed toxicity of chemical substances, and aniline is a typical anemia-inducing substance. However, it remains unclear whether all aniline-like substances with various substituents could induce anemia. We thus investigated the physicochemical characteristics of anemia-inducing substances by decision tree analyses. Training and validation substances were selected from a publicly available database of rat repeated-dose toxicity studies, and discrimination models were constructed by decision tree and bootstrapping methods with molecular descriptors as explanatory variables. To improve the accuracy of discrimination, we individually evaluated the explanatory variables to modify them, established “prerules” that were applied before subjecting a substance to a decision tree by considering metabolism, such as azo reduction and N-dealkylation, and introduced the idea of “partly negative” evaluation for substances having multiple aniline-like substructures. The final model obtained showed 79.2% and 77.5% accuracy for the training and validation dataset, respectively. In addition, we identified some chemical properties that reduce the anemia inducibility of aniline-like substances, including the addition of a sulfonate or carboxy functional group and/or a bulky multiring structure to anilines. In conclusion, the present findings will provide a novel insight into the mechanistic understanding of chemically induced anemia and help to develop a prediction system.

Pregnane X receptor (PXR) plays an important role in xenobiotic metabolism. While ligand binding induces PXR-dependent gene transcription, PXR shows constitutive transcriptional activity in the absence of ligands when expressed in cultured cells. This constitutive activity sometimes hampers investigation of PXR activation by compounds of interest. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanism of PXR activation. In the reported crystal structures of unliganded PXR, helix 12 (H12), including a coactivator binding motif, was stabilized, while it is destabilized in the unliganded structures of other nuclear receptors, suggesting a role for H12 stabilization in the basal activity of PXR. Since Phe420, located in the loop between H11 and H12, is thought to interact with Leu411 and Ile414 to stabilize H12, we substituted alanine at Phe420 (PXR-F420A) and separately inserted three alanine residues directly after Phe420 (PXR-3A) and investigated their influence on PXR-mediated transcription. Reporter gene assays demonstrated that the mutants showed drastically reduced basal activity and enhanced responses to various ligands, which was further enhanced by coexpression of the coactivator peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1α. Mutations of both Leu411 and Ile414 to alanine also suppressed basal activity. Mammalian two-hybrid assays showed that PXR-F420A and PXR-3A bound to corepressors and coactivators in the absence and presence of ligands, respectively. We conclude that the intramolecular interactions of Phe420 with Leu411 and Ile414 stabilize H12 to recruit coactivators even in the absence of ligands, contributing to the basal transcriptional activity of PXR. We propose that the generated mutants might be useful for PXR ligand screening.

Background Pregnane X receptor (PXR) is a key regulator of the induction of drug metabolizing enzymes. PXR has been studied for its importance in drug-drug or herb-drug interactions, and it is also a molecular target for the treatment of inflammatory and metabolic diseases. Purpose This study aims to determine new natural PXR-ligands from traditional plant medicines. Methods The PXR activation activity was measured by a mammalian one hybrid assay of PXR. Identification of the active compound from Alisma rhizome (the rhizomes of Alisma orientale) was carried out by bioassay-guided fractionation method. The transcriptional activity of the liver-enriched nuclear receptors was measured by the luciferase reporter assay. The interaction between the SRC-1 and PXR was measured by a mammalian 2-hybrid assay. The expression of endogenous CYP3A4 mRNA in both cultured hPXR-overexpressing hepatoma cells and human primary hepatocytes were measured by quantitative RT-PCR method. Results The extract of Alisma rhizome showed the most potent activation activity by screening of a library of medicinal plant extracts. Alisol B 23-acetate (ABA) was identified to be the active compound of Alisma rhizome. ABA caused a concentration-dependent increase on the PXR-dependent transactivation of a luciferase reporter gene, but did not affect the ligand binding activity of the liver-enriched nuclear receptors, such as CAR, LXR, FXR, PPARα, PPARδ and PPARγ, emphasizing that ABA is a potent and specific agonist of PXR. With ABA treatment, the direct interaction between the ligand-binding domain of PXR and the receptor interaction domain of SRC1 was observed. ABA also induced the expression of endogenous CYP3A4 mRNA in both cultured hPXR-overexpressing hepatoma cells and human primary hepatocytes. Conclusion Since the rhizomes of Alisma orientale are used for a wide range of ailments in traditional Chinese medicine and Japanese Kampo medicine, this study could possibly extend into the clinical usage of these medicines via the mechanism of PXR activation.

The constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) and pregnane X receptor (PXR) regulate various genes involved in xenobiotics and drug metabolism. In many cases, CAR/PXR share ligands termed dual ligands of CAR/PXR. It is difficult to investigate the effect of CAR/PXR dual ligands in cell lines because CAR and PXR expression is scarcely detected in cultured cell lines. Here, we established a tetracycline-inducible human CAR and stably human PXR-overexpressing HepG2 cell line (HepTR/hCAR/hPXR) to examine CAR/PXR dual ligands. In the present study, we investigated the regulation of CYP2B6, CYP2C9, CYP3A4, and UDP-glucuronosyl transferase, which are target genes of CAR/PXR, by dual ligands of CAR/PXR in two transfectants. Activation of CAR and PXR in cells treated with a high dose of CITCO [6-(4-chlorophenyl)-imidazo(2,1-b)thiazole-5-carbaldehyde] or cotreated with rifampicin and tetracycline resulted in synergistic enhancement of CYP3A4, but not CYP2B6, CYP2C9, or UGT1A1, mRNA expression in HepTR/hCAR/hPXR cells. In contrast, this synergistic effect was not observed in HepTR/hCAR cells. These observations were also demonstrated in human primary hepatocytes. Taken together, our results suggest that dual ligands of CAR/PXR show distinct gene regulation patterns by cross-talk between CAR and PXR. Furthermore, the two newly established cell lines are useful tools to investigate dual ligands of CAR/PXR.

It has been noticed that crosstalk between androgen receptor (AR) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathways plays a crucial role in the proliferation of prostate cancer cells. To clarify this mechanism, we focused on DEPTOR, a naturally occurring inhibitor of mTOR. The treatment of a human AR-positive prostate cancer cell line, LNCaP, with the AR-agonist dihydrotestosterone (DHT) repressed DEPTOR mRNA expression in a time-dependent manner. This repression was abrogated by treatment with the AR-antagonist bicalutamide. Knockdown of DEPTOR mRNA by siRNA resulted in the increased phosphorylation of 70 kDa ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1 (S6K), a substrate of mTORC1, accompanied by the elevated expression of cyclin D1, a positive regulator of cell proliferation. Furthermore, the ChIP assay demonstrated that AR could bind to AR-responsible element-like region within the 4th intron of the DEPTOR gene. The amount of acetylated histone H3 (Lys9, Lys14) was reduced by the DHT treatment in this region. Taken together, these results propose that AR-dependent prostate cancer cell proliferation requires decreased DEPTOR transcription directly controlled by AR.

HER2 overexpression accounts for approximately 15–20% of all breast cancers. We have shown that HER2 overexpression leads to elevated expression of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in breast cancer cells. In this study, firstly, we showed that AhR expression was up-regulated by treatment with the HER3 ligand heregulin (HRG) in HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cell lines. Induction of AhR was mediated by transcriptional activation of the region of AhR promoter corresponding to − 190 to − 100 bp. In addition, HRG treatment elicited nuclear translocation of AhR. To investigate the role of AhR in HRG-HER2/HER3 signaling in HER2-overexpressing cells, we established AhR knockout (KO) HER2-overexpressing cells to perform wound-healing assays. HRG-induced cell migration was markedly attenuated by AhR KO. HRG-induced cell migration was associated with increased expression of the inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 in wild type cells, but not in AhR KO cells. These results elucidate that AhR is an important factor for the malignancy in HER2 overexpressing breast cancers.

The constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) is a nuclear receptor that acts as a transcription factor for a variety of genes, including genes encoding xenobiotic, steroid, and drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters. Transactivation of a target gene by a transcription factor is generally mediated through the concerted and stepwise recruitment of various proteins termed coregulators, including coactivators and corepressors. In this study, TRIM24 (also known as transcriptional intermediary factor 1 alpha) was found to interact with the CAR. TRIM24 enhanced the CAR-dependent transactivation in reporter assays using the direct repeat-4 motif, a binding site of the CAR. This enhancement was synergistically augmented in the presence of steroid receptor coactivator (SRC) 1 or SRC2, both of which are coactivators of the CAR. In addition, TRIM24 was recruited to the CAR-binding element of the CYP2B6 promoter together with the CAR. We also noted that knockdown of TRIM24 suppressed CAR-induced CYP2B6 mRNA expression in HepTR/CAR and HepaRG cells and suppressed CAR-induced CYP3A4 mRNA expression in HepaRG cells but not HepTR/CAR cells. From these results, we suggest that TRIM24 is a novel coactivator of the CAR that is involved in cell- and/or promoter- selective transactivation.

A chemical study of the roots of Euphorbia fischeriana resulted in the isolation of seven triterpenes (1-7), including two new compounds: (24R,S)-3β-24,31-epoxy-24-methylcycloartane (1) and (24R,S)-3β,31-dihydroxy-24-methoxy-24-methylcycloartane (2). Their structures were elucidated through extensive spectroscopic analyses. Cycloartanes 1-4 showed significant human CYP3A4 promoter activity through a series of luciferase reporter assays. Of these compounds, 3 and 4 activated the pregnane X receptor (PXR) and induced CYP3A4 mRNA expression in human primary hepatocytes. However, despite showing the most potent human CYP3A4 promoter activity via a PXR-independent pathway, 2 did not affect CYP3A4 mRNA expression in human primary hepatocytes. This difference is correlated to substitutions in C-24 and C-25 of the cycloartane structure.

Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) act as either agonist or antagonist of estrogen receptor (ER) in a tissue selective manner and have been used in several diseases such as breast cancer, postmenopausal syndrome, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular diseases. However, current SERMs may also increase the risk of serious side effects and trigger drug resistance. Herein, a screening program, that was designed to search for novel SERMs, resulted in the identification of a series of 2-arylbenzofuran-containing compounds that are ligands for ERα, when applying the Gaussia-luciferase reporter assay. One of these compounds, 10-dehydrooxyglycyuralin E (T9) was chemically synthesized. T9 showed anti-estrogenic/proliferative activity in ERα-positive breast cancer cells. Pretreatment of T9 prevented the mRNA expression of GREB1, which is an estrogen response gene. Furthermore, by an in silico docking simulation study we demonstrated that T9 showed interactions directly to ERα. Taken together, these results demonstrated that T9 is a candidate of SERMs and a useful seed compound for the foundation of the selective activity of SERMs.

Targeted therapy is unavailable for treating patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), which accounts for approximately 15% of all breast cancers. Overexpression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is observed in approximately 30-60% of TNBCs. Therefore, developing novel strategies for inhibiting EGFR signaling is required. In the present study, a natural compound library was screened to identify molecules that target TNBCs that overexpress EGFR. Picrasidine G (PG), a naturally occurring dimeric alkaloid produced by Picrasma quassioides, decreased the viability of the MDA-MB 468 cell line (TNBCEGFR+) compared with other breast cancer cell lines. PG treatment increased markers of apoptosis, including chromatin condensation, sub-G1 population, cleavage of caspase 3 and cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). PG inhibited the phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and inhibited transcription of the STAT3-target gene encoding survivin. Further, PG inhibited EGF-induced STAT3 phosphorylation but not interleukin-6 (IL-6)-induced STAT3 phosphorylation. These results suggest that PG may contribute to the development of targeted therapy of patients with EGFR-overexpressing TNBC.

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor. Recent studies have reported the anti-tumor effects of the AhR in breast cancer. In this study, we investigated the anti-tumor effect of AhR activation based on the cancer stem cell hypothesis. We show that AhR activation suppressed mammosphere formation of MCF-7 cells and decreased the proportion of cells with high ALDH-1 (aldehyde dehydrogenase 1) activity. In addition, we also demonstrate that AhR activation regulates self-renewal signaling by down-regulating Wnt/β-catenin and Notch.

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor repressor (AhRR) suppressed, in a ligand independent manner, the ability of estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) to enhance the transcription of heterologous estrogen-responsive reporter plasmids in transient transfection assays, as well as of endogenous estrogen-responsive genes in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells. AhRR repressed ERalpha-mediated trans-activation by interfering allosterically with the ligand-independent function of AF-1. The direct interaction between AhRR and ERalpha at the multipartite binding site of ERalpha, which ranges from a DNA binding domain to a ligand binding domain, but did not include the AF-1 moiety was confirmed by a coimmunoprecipitation assay. The AhRR/ERalpha complex was formed in the nuclear compartment and was entrapped by a cis-element in the promoter of E2-responsive genes, as determined in a chromatin immunoprecipitation assay. AhRR might play a role of co-repressor on the transcriptional activity of the ERalpha homodimer.

Phytochemical investigation of the roots of Euphorbia fischeriana resulted in the isolation of 23 diterpenoids (1–23), which were classified into five subtypes, namely, ent-rosane (1–9), ent-abietane (10–16), ent-kaurane (17), ingenane (18–22), and lathyrane (23). The chemical structures of eight new compounds, namely, euphorin A (4), B (5), C (7), D (9), E (13), F (14), G (15), and H (16), were elucidated on the basis of extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analyses, as well as single crystal X-ray structure analysis. A number of compounds (2, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 16, 19, 20, 22, and 23) showed inhibitory activity on the formation of mammospheres in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells at a final concentration of 10 μM, suggesting the potential of these bioactive diterpenoids for further investigation of the action targeting cancer stem cells.

Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) in spontaneous multinuclear cells shows that both rat and human constitutive active/androstane receptors (CARs) are shuttling proteins with both nuclear localization signals (NLSs) and nuclear export signals (NESs). We previously identified two NLSs in rat CAR: NLS1 in the hinge region (residues 100–108) and NLS2 in the ligand-binding domain (residues 111–320). In the present study, we compared the intracellular localization signals between rat and human CARs. There was a marked difference in their intracellular localization in COS-7 cells because, unlike rat CAR, human CAR does not contain NLS1 due to an amino acid change at position 106. A CRM1-dependent leucine-rich NES, which is sensitive to an inhibitory effect of leptomycin B, was found in the cytoplasmic retention region previously identified within the ligand-binding domain of rat CAR (residues 220–258). We found that human CAR instead has a NES in the ligand-binding domain between residues 170 and 220. Also, we detected CRM1-independent C-terminal NESs between residues 317–358 of rat and human CARs. Removal of NLS1 by N-terminal truncation and mutation of xenochemical response signal caused rat CAR to localize in the cytoplasm of COS-7 cells, which we suspect is due to the masking of NLS2.

The discovery of new drugs that target cancer stem cells (CSCs) is a critical approach to overcome the major difficulties of the metastasis, chemotherapeutic resistance and recurrence for successful cancer therapy. Chemical investigation of the roots of Euphorbia fischeriana resulted in the isolation of eight ent-atisane diterpenoids (1-8), including two new compounds: 19-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-ent-atis-16-ene-3,14-dione (7) and 19-O-(6-galloyl)-β-D-glucopyranosyl-ent-atis-16-ene-3,14-dione (8). The structures were elucidated on extensive spectroscopic analyses, as well as chemical transformations. ent-3β-Hydroxyatis-16-ene-2,14-dione (5), 7 and its aglycon, ent-19-hydroxy-atis-16-ene-3,14-dione (7a), showed significant inhibitory activity on mammosphere formation in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells at a final concentration of 10 μM.

The constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) plays a key role in the expression of xenobiotic/steroid and drug metabolizing enzymes and their transporters. In this study, we demonstrated that protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) is a novel CAR-interacting protein. Furthermore, the PRMT-dependent induction of a CAR reporter gene, which was independent of methyltransferase activity, was enhanced in the presence of steroid receptor coactivator 1 (SRC1), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator 1 alpha (PGC-1α) or DEAD box DNA/RNA helicase DP97. Using tetracycline inducible-hCAR system in HepG2 cells, we showed that knockdown of PRMT5 with small interfering RNA suppressed tetracycline -induced mRNA expression of CYP2B6 but not of CYP2C9 or CYP3A4. PRMT5 enhanced phenobarbital-mediated transactivation of a phenobarbital-responsive enhancer module (PBREM)-driven reporter gene in co-operation with PGC-1α in rat primary hepatocytes. Based on these findings, we suggest PRMT5 to be a gene (or promoter)-selective coactivator of CAR by mediating the formation of complexes between hCAR and appropriate coactivators.

The basal transcriptional activity of unliganded human constitutive androstane receptor (hCAR) was shown to be repressed by the potent liver X receptor (LXR) agonist, TO901317, in a concentration-dependent manner using a reporter assay in cultured cells. TO901317 also repressed the basal transcriptional activity of both mouse and rat CAR. The certified hCAR agonist, CITCO, partially reversed this repressive effect of TO901317 on hCAR basal activity. Unlike hCAR, a three alanine insertion mutant and the splice variant 2 of hCAR require agonists, such as CITCO, to become transcriptionally active and the CITCO-induced reporter activity was repressed by TO901317. As has been previously shown for the typical hCAR inverse agonist, PK11195, TO901317 blocked the interaction of hCAR with steroid receptor co-activator 1 (SRC1). In contrast, the interaction between hCAR and nuclear receptor corepressor 1 (NCoR1) was promoted by PK11195 and TO901317. Furthermore, the hCAR-mediated basal induction of endogenous cytochrome P450 2B6 (CYP2B6) mRNA was adversely affected by co-treatment with TO901317.

The interaction between HER2 and aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) signaling cascades during mammosphere formation of MCF-7 cells was studied. A newly established clonal MCF-7 cell line (HER2-5), stably overexpressing HER2, showed significantly enhanced levels of AhR mRNA and protein compared with MCF-7 cells. AhR was required for the HER2-mediated induction of interleukin-6 mRNA and for mammosphere formation in HER2-5 and MCF-7 cells. Mammosphere forming efficiency was suppressed by an AhR antagonist in a dose-dependent manner, as well as by knockdown of AhR. Taken together, these results indicate that AhR enhances mammosphere formation by human HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells.

The constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) plays a key role in the expression of xenobiotic/steroid and drug metabolizing enzymes and their transporters. In this study, we demonstrated that DP97, a member of the DEAD box DNA/RNA helicase protein family, is a novel CAR-interacting protein. Using HepG2 cells expressing human CAR in the presence of tetracycline, we showed that knockdown of DP97 with small interfering RNAs suppressed tetracycline-inducible mRNA expression of CYP2B6 and UGT1A1 but not CYP3A4. Thus, DP97 was found to be a gene (or promoter)-selective co-activator for hCAR. DP97-mediated CAR transactivation was synergistically enhanced by the co-expression of SRC-1 or PGC1α, therefore it might act as mediator between hCAR and appropriate co-activators.

A novel steroid compound, (17α,20E)-17,20-[(1-methoxyethylidene)bis(oxy)]-3-oxo-19-norpregna-4,20-diene-21-carboxylic acid methyl ester (YK11), was found to be a partial agonist of the androgen receptor (AR) in an androgen responsive element (ARE)-luciferase reporter assay. YK11 accelerates nuclear translocation of AR. Furthermore, YK11 does not induce amino/carboxyl-terminal (N/C) interaction and prevents 5-α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT)-mediated N/C interaction. Thus, YK11 activates AR without causing N/C interaction, which may in turn be responsible for the partially agonistic nature of YK11 observed in the ARE-luciferase reporter system. YK11 acts as a gene-selective agonist of AR in MDA-MB 453 cells. The effect of YK11 on gene expression relative to that of androgen agonist varies depending on the gene context. YK11 activated the reporter gene by inducing the translocation of the AR into the nuclear compartment, where its amino-terminal domain (NTD) functions as a constitutive activator of AR target genes. Our results suggest that YK11 might act as selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM).

The expression of the CAR gene is lost in most cultured cell lines, and exogenously expressed CAR accumulates spontaneously in the nuclear compartment, where CAR is constitutively active. Therefore, the assessment of CAR-dependent transcriptional activation has to be evaluated using either animal models or primary cultured hepatocytes. Furthermore, due to the species-specific response of CAR to individual compounds, the results obtained with animal models are not directly applicable to human cases. We established a novel screening system for hCAR ligands (including agonists and inverse agonists) by expressing GAL4/DBD-fused hCAR/LBD, in which three consecutive alanine residues were inserted between helix 11 and helix 12 of LBD, and a commercially obtained plasmid consisting of the firefly luciferase gene downstream of the GAL4 responsive element in a cultured cell line. Androstenol (Andro) and clotrimazole (CLT), which are both inverse agonists of hCAR, were classified as an antagonist and weak agonist, respectively, in our novel assay system. Among DDT and its metabolites DDE and DDD, only DDT worked as an agonist of the hCAR mutant, although all of them were enrolled as agonists of SXR. Using this system, the screening for hCAR ligands can be conducted without sacrificing animals.

Two members of the 'AhR family' (a family which is part of the bHLH-PAS superfamily), aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and AhR repressor (AhRR), originated from a common ancestor and form a regulatory circuit in xenobiotic signal transduction. AhRR is a nucleocytoplasmic shuttle protein, harboring both a nuclear localization signal (NLS) and a nuclear export signal (NES). Because NLS is dominant over NES, AhRR resides predominantly in the nuclear compartment. The NES of AhRR resembles that of AhR in sensitivity to leptomycin B, whereas the NLS of AhRR is monopartite and is, therefore, distinguished from the reported bipartite NLS of AhR. The NLS deletion mutant of GFP-AhRR was transported into the nuclear compartment in the presence of AhR nuclear translocator (Arnt), suggesting the assembly of an AhRR/Arnt heterodimer complex in the cytoplasmic compartment and Arnt-dependent nuclear translocation of this complex.

The variant cell lines stably expressing aryl hydrocarbon receptor repressor (AhRR), MCFRR1 and MCFRR4, were established from human breast cancer MCF-7 cells by transfecting with AhRR-expression construct followed by selection, in order to analyze the effect of AhRR on the cell growth and expression of cell cycle-related genes. The variant cells showed higher levels of AhRR mRNA compared with the parental cells. MCFRR4 cells grew slowly compared with MCF-7 in both cell number and proliferation rate measured by the MTS method. Among cell cycle-related genes such as E2F, cyclin E1, cyclin D1, PCNA, p53, Rb, c-myc and p27Kip1, and estrogen responsive genes such as cathepsin D and hsp27, the expression levels of E2F, cyclin E1, PCNA and cathepsin D mRNA in MCFRR4 cells were lower than those in MCF-7 cells, while those of Rb, p27Kip1, c-myc and hsp27 mRNA were not significantly affected and that of cyclin D1 mRNA was enhanced in variant cells. Based on these results, AhRR might be suppressive on cell growth of MCF-7 by disturbing the transcriptional and/or posttranscriptional regulations of estrogen-responsive and cell cycle-related genes.