Abstract
Rac1, a Rho GTPase, modulates diverse cellular processes and is hyperactive in some cancers. Estrogen receptor-alpha (ER) in concert with intracellular signaling pathways regulates genes associated with cell proliferation, tumor development and breast cancer cell survival. Therefore, we examined the possibility of Rac1 and ER crosstalk in breast cancer cells. We found that Rac1 enhanced ER transcriptional activity in breast cancer cells. Vav3, a Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor that activates Rac1, was an upstream mediator and P21/Cdc42/Rac1 activating kinase-1 (Pak-1) was a downstream effector of Rac1 enhancement of ER activity. These results suggest that Rac1 may prove to be a therapeutic target. To test this hypothesis, we used a small molecule Rac inhibitor, EHT 1864, and found that EHT 1864 inhibited ER transcriptional activity. Furthermore, EHT 1864 inhibited estrogen-induced cell proliferation in breast cancer cells and decreased tamoxifen resistant breast cancer cell growth. EHT 1864 decreased activity of the promoter of the ER gene resulting in downregulation of ER mRNA and protein levels. Therefore, ER downregulation by EHT 1864 is the likely mechanism of EHT 1864-mediated inhibition of ER activity and estrogen-stimulated breast cancer cell proliferation. Since ER plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of breast cancer and the Rac inhibitor EHT 1864 downregulates ER expression and breast cancer cell proliferation, further investigation of the therapeutic potential of Rac1 targeting in the treatment of breast cancer is warranted.
