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Prof. Dr. Loredana Mauro

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Guest Editor

Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Arcavacata di Rende (CS), Italy
Interests: role of adiponectin and leptin in the development and progression of breast cancer; role of the microenvironment in obesity-related breast tumorigenesis; modulatory action of nuclear receptors (estrogen receptor (ERα, ERβ), farnesol X receptor (FXR), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARg), progesteron receptor (PR)) in the development and progression of hormone-dependent tumors; Molecular mechanisms involved in the antitumor effects of molecules of natural origin and newly synthesized in breast cancer

Prof. Dr. Maria Luisa Panno

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Guest Editor

Dr. Francesca Giordano

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Guest Editor

Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Arcavacata di Rende, CS, Italy
Interests: natural product; cancer; oxidative stress biomarkers; modulatory action of nuclear receptors; adipokines in the development and progression of breast cancer
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The incidence of breast cancer, as the most frequently diagnosed and leading cause of cancer death in women, is now part of planetary awareness.

The activation of different hormone receptors via many intrinsic and extrinsic factors may influence breast cancer cell biology, controlling cell phenotype as well as disease progression.

Deeply understanding the molecular mechanisms triggered by hormone receptors in breast cancer cells may provide valuable pharmacological targets to develop more effective anticancer treatments.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to collect original research and review articles on the latest findings focused on hormone receptor activation in breast cancer progression and metastasis, as well as on the applications of this knowledge for disease management.

As Guest Editors of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, we are pleased to invite your contribution to a Special Issue entitled “Hormone Receptors and Signaling in Breast Cancer: Novel Targets and Therapeutic Challenges”.

Prof. Loredana Mauro
Prof. Maria Luisa Panno
Dr. Francesca Giordano
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Breast cancer
Hormone receptors
Transductional signaling
Molecular targets
In vitro and in vivo studies

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

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16 pages, 2354 KiB

Open AccessReview

Unraveling the Role of Adiponectin Receptors in Obesity-Related Breast Cancer

by Giuseppina Daniela Naimo, Alessandro Paolì, Francesca Giordano, Martina Forestiero, Maria Luisa Panno, Sebastiano Andò and Loredana Mauro

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(10), 8907; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms24108907 - 17 May 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1694

Abstract

Obesity has a noteworthy role in breast tumor initiation and progression. Among the mechanisms proposed, the most validated is the development of chronic low-grade inflammation, supported by immune cell infiltration along with dysfunction in adipose tissue biology, characterized by an imbalance in adipocytokines secretion and alteration of their receptors within the tumor microenvironment. Many of these receptors belong to the seven-transmembrane receptor family, which are involved in physiological features, such as immune responses and metabolism, as well as in the development and progression of several malignancies, including breast cancer. These receptors are classified as canonical (G protein-coupled receptors, GPCRs) and atypical receptors, which fail to interact and activate G proteins. Among the atypical receptors, adiponectin receptors (AdipoRs) mediate the effect of adiponectin, the most abundant adipocytes-derived hormone, on breast cancer cell proliferation, whose serum levels are reduced in obesity. The adiponectin/AdipoRs axis is becoming increasingly important regarding its role in breast tumorigenesis and as a therapeutic target for breast cancer treatment. The objectives of this review are as follows: to point out the structural and functional differences between GPCRs and AdipoRs, and to focus on the effect of AdipoRs activation in the development and progression of obesity-dependent breast cancer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hormone Receptors and Signaling in Breast Cancer: Novel Targets and Therapeutic Challenges)

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Other

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14 pages, 1548 KiB

Open AccessBrief Report

Heregulin Drives Endocrine Resistance by Altering IL-8 Expression in ER-Positive Breast Cancer

by Adriana Papadimitropoulou, Luciano Vellon, Ella Atlas, Travis Vander Steen, Elisabet Cuyàs, Sara Verdura, Ingrid Espinoza, Javier A. Menendez and Ruth Lupu

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(20), 7737; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms21207737 - 19 Oct 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2184

Abstract

Sustained HER2/HER3 signaling due to the overproduction of the HER3 ligand heregulin (HRG) is proposed as a key contributor to endocrine resistance in estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer. The molecular mechanisms linking HER2 transactivation by HRG-bound HER3 to the acquisition of a hormone-independent phenotype in ER+ breast cancer is, however, largely unknown. Here, we explored the possibility that autocrine HRG signaling drives cytokine-related endocrine resistance in ER+ breast cancer cells. We used human cytokine antibody arrays to semi-quantitatively measure the expression level of 60 cytokines and growth factors in the extracellular milieu of MCF-7 cells engineered to overexpress full-length HRGβ2 (MCF-7/HRG cells). Interleukin-8 (IL-8), a chemokine closely linked to ER inaction, emerged as one the most differentially expressed cytokines. Cytokine profiling using structural deletion mutants lacking both the N-terminus and the cytoplasmic-transmembrane region of HRGβ2—which is not secreted and cannot transactivate HER2—or lacking a nuclear localization signal at the N-terminus—which cannot localize at the nucleus but is actively secreted and transactivates HER2—revealed that the HRG-driven activation of IL-8 expression in ER+ cells required HRG secretion and transactivation of HER2 but not HRG nuclear localization. The functional blockade of IL-8 with a specific antibody inversely regulated ERα-driven transcriptional activation in endocrine-sensitive MCF-7 cells and endocrine-resistant MCF-7/HRG cells. Overall, these findings suggest that IL-8 participates in the HRG-driven endocrine resistance program in ER+/HER2- breast cancer and might illuminate a potential clinical setting for IL8- or CXCR1/2-neutralizing antibodies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hormone Receptors and Signaling in Breast Cancer: Novel Targets and Therapeutic Challenges)

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