Background
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women in industrialized countries. Clinical and experimental data have revealed that female steroid hormones play an essential role in the development of sporadic breast cancer [
1]. For example, the steroid hormone 17-β-estradiol (E
2) is involved in the regulation of growth and differentiation of malignant breast epithelial cells [
2]. The predominant biological effect of E
2 is mediated through its interaction with two intracellular estrogen receptors (ERα and ERβ), ERα being strongly expressed in 80% of breast cancers [
2‐
4]. ERs are ligand-dependent transcription factors controlled by E
2, and they regulate the expression of many genes [
1‐
5] including potassium [
6], calcium [
7,
8] and TRP (transient receptor potential) channels [
9,
10].
Recently, TRP channels have emerged as new channels implicated in carcinogenesis [
11‐
14]. In our laboratory, we have previously shown that TRPC6 (canonical-related TRP member 6) channels are over-expressed and functional in breast cancer [
15]. More recently, we have shown that TRPM7 (melastatin-related TRP member 7) is involved in breast cancer cell proliferation [
16]. In addition, TRPM8 (melastatin-related TRP member 8) channel is found to be over-expressed in several primary tumours including colon, lung, skin, and prostate cancer [
17]. TRPM8 channel is a Ca
2+-permeable cation channel which is stimulated by temperatures below 28°C and by the cooling agents Menthol and Icilin [
18,
19].
It is well established that TRPM8 channel expression is regulated by androgens. Indeed, the androgen regulation of TRPM8 expression was reported in prostate cancer and putative androgen receptor response elements were identified in the TRPM8 gene [
20‐
22]. Therefore, TRPM8 channels can be considered as a valuable prognostic marker in prostate cancer [
23]. However, in breast cancer, TRPM8 function and regulation by E
2 are unknown. Only a single report has mentioned the over-expression of TRPM8 mRNA in breast cancer [
17].
It is now well established that breast cancer cell line MCF-7 expresses E
2 receptors (ER
+), and that 17-β-estradiol increases its proliferation [
24]. In the present study, we examined the expression and function of TRPM8 in the ER
+ human breast cancer cell line MCF-7. We also determined whether TRPM8 mRNA expression was regulated by estrogens. Finally, we investigated whether TRPM8 is over-expressed in human breast cancer tissues regarding their ER status.
Methods
Cell culture and steroid depletion procedure
MCF-7 cells were routinely cultured in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (Lonza, Belgium) including 4.5 g/L glucose and L-glutamine, supplemented with 5% fetal calf serum (FCS), and maintained at 37°C in a humidified atmosphere with 5% CO2. For steroid depletion experiments, MCF-7 cells were seeded in 60-mm Petri dishes at a density of 6.105 cells/dish and grown for 48 h. Then, cells were grown in a medium in which the FCS was replaced with starvation medium (0FCS) or steroid-free medium (5% dextran-coated charcoal-treated FCS (DCCFCS) for 24, 48 and 72 h prior to incubation with E2 (10 nM) for 24 and 48 h E2 (Sigma, France) was dissolved in ethanol, and final E2 concentration was obtained by appropriate dilution. The dilution factor was < 1/100000.
Electrophysiological recording
MCF-7 cells were seeded in 35-mm Petri dishes at a confluence of 8.104 cells/dish. They were grown at 37°C in a humidified atmosphere of air/CO2 for further 48 h before electrophysiological recordings. Dishes with attached cells were transferred to a continually perfused recording chamber and TRPM8 activity was recorded using the conventional patch clamp technique in the whole cell configuration. Patch pipettes were made using haematocrit capillaries (Hirschmann-Laborgerate, Germany. Patch pipettes of 3-5 MΩ were filled with (in mM): CsCl 145, NaCl 8, MgCl2 2, EGTA 10, and HEPES 10 (pH was adjusted to 7.2 using CsOH). External solution for patch-clamp recordings contained (in mM): NaCl 140, KCl 5, CaCl2 2, MgCl2 2, HEPES 10, Glucose 5, and TEA-Cl 5 (pH was adjusted to 7.4 using NaOH). Activation of TRPM8 currents was achieved by external application of 20 μM Icilin. Current-Voltage relationship was obtained by linear 100 ms ramps from -100 mV to +100 mV from a holding potential of -40 mV. Signals were captured using a Digidata 1200 converter and they were analysed using an Axopatch 200B in combination with pClamp 9 software (All from Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, CA, USA). Traces were filtered at 5 kHz and digitized at 10 kHz. Analyses were made using Clampfit 9 (Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, CA, USA) and Microcal Origin 8.0 software (Microcal Software, Northampton, MA, USA). Experiments were performed at room temperature (21°C).
Calcium imaging
Calcium imaging experiments, using Fura-2, have been carried out as previously described [
25]. The extracellular solution contained (in mM): 145 NaCl, 5 KCl, 5 CaCl
2, 2 MgCl
2, 10 HEPES, and 5 glucose (pH adjusted to 7.4 by NaOH). Icilin and thapsigargin (TG, Sigma Aldrich, France) were dissolved in DMSO. The dilution factor was < 1/1000.
Reverse transcription and semi-quantitative PCR
Total RNA extraction and reverse transcription of RNA was carried out as previously described [
15]. Sense and antisense PCR primers specific to TRPM8 channels (sense: 5'-TCTACGAGCCCTACCTG-3', antisense: 5'-CACCGTGTAGCCAAAC-3'), ERα (sense: 5'-AGGTGTACCTGGACAGCAGCAAG-3', antisense: 5'-TCTAGAAGGTGGACCTGATCATG-3'), and β-actin (sense: 5'-CAGAGCAAGAGAGGCATCCT-3', antisense: 5'-ACGTACATGGCTGGGGTG-3') were used. PCR reactions were carried out on a iCycler thermal cycler (Biorad, France) using the following parameters: denaturation at 94°C for 30 s, annealing at 58°C (TRPM8 and β-actin) or 60°C (ERα) for 30 s, and extension at 72°C for 40 s. 23 cycles for β-actin and 40 cycles for TRPM8 and ERα primers were performed, followed by an extension at 72°C for 5 min. PCR products were analyzed by gel electrophoresis and visualized by ethidium bromide staining. PCR products were quantified using Quantity One software (Biorad, France) and results are expressed as the ratio of ERα or TRPM8 on β-actin referent gene.
Small Interfering (si) RNA cell transfection
MCF-7 cells were transfected as previously described [
26] using 2 μg ERα siRNA (SiERα) on target plus smart pool L-003401-00-0005 human ESR1 (Dharmacon, USA). Control experiments were performed by transfecting 2 μg siRNA (SiControl) which does not target any known gene (D-001210-01-20, Dharmacon, USA).
Immunoprecipitation and Western Blotting
MCF-7 cells were lysed in RIPA buffer (Triton X-100 1%, sodium deoxycholate 1%, NaCl 150 mM, Tris HCl 50 mM pH 7.4, Sigma P8340 inhibitors cocktail, EDTA 2 mM, sodium orthovanadate 0.5 mM). Human colon cancer tissue proteins were extracted in the WCE buffer (Whole Cell Extract: NaCl 150 mM, Tris HCl 50 mM pH7.5, NP40 1%, Sigma P8340 inhibitors cocktail, SDS 0.1% and sodium orthovanadate 1 mM) using a Polytron homogenizer (PRO-200, Fisher Bioblock Scientific). Equal amount of each protein sample (30 μg) were separated by electrophoresis on SDS-PAGE and blotted onto nitrocellulose membrane (GE Healthcare). Blots were incubated as indicated with antibodies raised against TRPM8 (Abcam, 1/500) and β-actin (Santa Cruz, 1/2000) proteins. The blots were developed with the enhanced chemiluminescence (ECL) system (Bio-rad) using specific peroxidase-conjugated anti-IgG antibodies.
Immunoprecipitation experiments were performed on 1 mg of protein sample from MCF-7 cells. Lysates were precleared 30 min with 50 μl of protein G- and A-agarose beads. Supernatants were incubated overnight at 4°C with 1 μg of TRPM8 antibody (Abcam) and then incubated with protein G- and A-agarose beads for 30 min. Beads were washed three times with RIPA buffer and resuspended in SDS loading buffer before electrophoresis.
Immuno-histochemistry
Tumour and non-tumour tissue samples were selected by pathologists from fresh specimens and embedded in paraffin until analysis. Surgical consent forms were signed by the patients to allow the use of a portion of the cancerous tissue for research purposes. Samples were considered as ER+ when ERα was expressed. ERα immuno-histochemical staining (ER+ or ER-) and tumour grade were evaluated by the pathologists in routine examination. The Scarff, Bloom and Richardson (SBR) histopronostic grading system is based on cell differentiation, nuclear polymorphism and mitotic activity: Grade I (well-differentiated), Grade II (moderately-differentiated) and Grade III (poorly-differentiated).
TRPM8 immuno-histochemical studies were performed as previously described [
15] using the indirect immuno-peroxidase staining technique on paraffin-embedded material with a Ventana ES automatic analyzer (Ventana Medical Systems) and with a haematoxylin counterstain. Briefly, after blocking the endogenous peroxidase by the I-View Inhibitor (Ventana), sections were stained with an anti-TRPM8 antibody (Abcam, 1/1500), incubated with biotinylated anti-rabbit IgG (I-View Biotin Ig, Ventana) and exposed to streptavidine-peroxidase complex (I-View SA-HRP, Ventana). DAB/H
2O
2 was used as chromogen and the slides were then examined under optical microscopy. Micrograph acquisition was performed by a camera connected to a Zeiss microscope equipped with a x 20 objective lens. Immuno-staining levels in the tumour tissue were determined by subjective visual scoring of the brown stain, and compared to the non tumoral tissue. Scoring levels were: 0 = absence of staining; 1 = weak staining intensity (equal to normal tissue); 2 = moderate; 3 = strong staining intensity. For the quantitative analysis, we report the percentage of cases presenting an over-expression of TRPM8 (scores 2 and 3).
All experiments on human tissues were approved by the Comité Consultatif de Protection des Personnes dans la Recherche Biomédicale de Picardie (CCPPRB), Amiens, France.
Statistics
Results are expressed as means ± SEM. Unpaired Student t-tests were used for mRNA expression levels analysis. χ2 tests were used to estimate the significance between the effects of Icilin on the Ca2+ signal in E2 treated cells, and also to estimate the correlation between TRPM8 over-expression and adenocarcinomas ER status. Differences were considered significant when p < 0.05.
Discussion
In this study, we demonstrate that: 1) MCF-7 breast cancer cell line expressed a classical Icilin-sensitive channel, 2) Icilin induced also an increase of intracellular Ca2+ that was mediated by endogenous plasma membrane TRPM8 activation, 3) only 30% of cells under investigation respond to Icilin, 4) expression of TRPM8 is regulated by estrogens, and 5) the over-expression of TRPM8 in breast adenocarcinomas is correlated with ER+ status.
Functional TRPM8 channels have been clearly characterized in over-expression systems [
18,
19], in human cancer epithelial LNCaP cell line [
20], and in primary culture of prostate epithelium cancer (PrPCa) cells [
27]. Both cold and Menthol activated an inward current in LNCaP cell line [
28], while Icilin activated a classical outwardly rectified TRPM8-current in PrPCa cells [
22,
27]. In MCF-7 cells, application of the super-cooling agent Icilin, which is ~200-fold more potent than menthol, activated both an outwardly rectifying current and an elevation of cytoplasmic Ca
2+ in a small fraction of cells (30% of all the cells tested). In cells responding to Icilin, the activated currents were characterized by an outward rectification and a reversal potential close to 0 mV as described in the literature for plasma membrane TRPM8 evoked currents [
22,
27]. The small proportion of responding cells suggest that TRPM8 channels are not widely functionally expressed in the MCF-7 breast cancer line.
In LNCaP cells, two studies have reported dual localization of TRPM8 channels in the plasma membrane (
PMTRPM8) and endoplasmic reticulum (
ERTRPM8). Prevarskaya's group has demonstrated that the
ERTRPM8 is a truncated TRPM8 isoform which acts as an endoplasmic reticulum calcium releasing channel and which is not regulated by differentiation status [
27,
29]. In contrast,
PMTRPM8 channels are regulated by the differentiation and androgen receptor status [
27,
29]. Indeed,
PMTRPM8 is fully expressed and functional in the early stages of well-differentiated androgen-dependent prostate cancer, and disappeared in metastasis profile when androgen receptors down-regulate. MCF-7 cell line was isolated from a non invasive adenocarcinoma, and retains several characteristics of differentiated mammary epithelium including the sensibility to estradiol via estrogen receptors and the capability of forming domes [
30]. Moreover, when analysing the expression of TRPM8 according to breast cancer grades, we found that TRPM8 is rather over-expressed in grade I (well differentiated) and II (moderately differentiated) than in grade III (poorly differentiated). Taken together, we can suggest that in breast cancer, TRPM8 is functional at the plasma membrane and expressed in the early primitive breast cancers presenting a well-differentiated status.
Several studies have provided evidence of a pronounced TRPM8 expression in human tumours including prostate cancer, melanoma, lung cancer, colorectal adenocarcinoma and breast cancer [
17,
22,
31]. Our results show, for the first time, that TRPM8 protein is over-expressed in human breast adenocarcinomas and that this over-expression is specifically correlated with ERα expression. Furthermore, in ER
+ MCF-7 cell line, TRPM8 expression is regulated by estrogens. Indeed, either ER expression silencing or E
2 deprivation led to a reduction in TRPM8 mRNA expression, and application of E
2 increased TRPM8 mRNA. Moreover, stimulation of starved cells with E
2 increased the number of cells responding to Icilin without altering the amount of Icilin-induced Ca
2+ entry, suggesting that estrogens control the fraction of cells expressing TRPM8 channels rather than the amount of TRPM8 channel per cell. Taken together, these results suggest a hormonal-dependent regulation of TRPM8 expression in breast cancer. Regulation of TRPM8 by androgens in prostate cancer cells was suggested by Tsavaler
et al [
17] and confirmed in LNCaP cell line [
20,
22]. In LNCaP cells, the analysis of the TRPM8 gene resulted in the detection of 10 putative androgen responsive elements, one in the promoter region and the others in introns of the gene [
20,
22]. Altogether, we can suggest that TRPM8 gene expression is under steroid hormones regulation. However, in breast cancer, the regulation of TRPM8 gene expression by putative estrogen response elements needs further investigations.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the anatomic pathology department of the University Hospital of Amiens for immuno-histochemical studies. We thank Dr Alexandre Loucif for his contribution to the manuscript and his technical assistance. We also thank Momar DIOUF for his contribution to the statistic analysis.
This research was supported by the Region Picardie, the Cancéropôle Nord Ouest, the Ministère de l'Education Nationale, and the Ligue contre le cancer.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors' contributions
DC did the studies on the regulation of TRPM8 by estrogens (E2 and siRNA). AG and MG did the electrophysiological and the calcium imaging studies. ID-D did the immuno-histochemistry (IHC), western blot, IP, and the conventional PCR studies. HS provided us with the human biopsies and allowed us to do the IHC in his laboratory. HO-A designed the studies and wrote the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.