Document Type
Article
Source
PLoS ONE
ISSN
1932-6203
Volume
8
Issue
8
First Page
e72639
Publication Date
8-28-2013
Department
Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Abstract
Cadmium is an omnipotent environmental contaminant associated with the development of breast cancer. Studies suggest that cadmium functions as an endocrine disruptor, mimicking the actions of estrogen in breast cancer cells and activating the receptor to promote cell growth. Although acute cadmium exposure is known to promote estrogen receptor-mediated gene expression associated with growth, the consequence of chronic cadmium exposure is unclear. Since heavy metals are known to bioaccumulate, it is necessary to understand the effects of prolonged cadmium exposure. This study aims to investigate the effects of chronic cadmium exposure on breast cancer progression. A MCF7 breast cancer cell line chronically exposed to 10−7 M CdCl2 serves as our model system. Data suggest that prolonged cadmium exposures result in the development of more aggressive cancer phenotypes – increased cell growth, migration and invasion. The results from this study show for the first time that chronic cadmium exposure stimulates the expression of SDF-1 by altering the molecular interactions between ERα, c-jun and c-fos. This study provides a mechanistic link between chronic cadmium exposure and ERα and demonstrates that prolonged, low-level cadmium exposure contributes to breast cancer progression
Rights
Copyright © 2013 The Author(s)
PubMed ID
24015267
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.