Tamoxifen inhibits tumor cell invasion and metastasis in mouse melanoma through suppression of PKC/MEK/ERK and PKC/PI3K/Akt pathways.

Abstract

In melanoma, several signaling pathways are constitutively activated. Among these, the protein kinase C (PKC) signaling pathways are activated through multiple signal transduction molecules and appear to play major roles in melanoma progression. Recently, it has been reported that tamoxifen, an anti-estrogen reagent, inhibits PKC signaling in estrogen-negative and estrogen-independent cancer cell lines. Thus, we investigated whether tamoxifen inhibited tumor cell invasion and metastasis in mouse melanoma cell line B16BL6. Tamoxifen significantly inhibited lung metastasis, cell migration, and invasion at concentrations that did not show anti-proliferative effects on B16BL6 cells. Tamoxifen also inhibited the mRNA expressions and protein activities of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Furthermore, tamoxifen suppressed phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and Akt through the inhibition of PKCalpha and PKCdelta phosphorylation. However, other signal transduction factor, such as p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) was unaffected. The results indicate that tamoxifen suppresses the PKC/mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK)/ERK and PKC/phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathways, thereby inhibiting B16BL6 cell migration, invasion, and metastasis. Moreover, tamoxifen markedly inhibited not only developing but also clinically evident metastasis. These findings suggest that tamoxifen has potential clinical applications for the treatment of tumor cell metastasis.

• Authors: Hiroshi Matsuoka, Masanobu Tsubaki, Yuzuru Yamazoe, Mitsuhiko Ogaki, Takao Satou, Tatsuki Itoh, Takashi Kusunoki, Shozo Nishida
• Journal: Experimental cell research (Exp Cell Res) Vol. 315 Issue 12 Pg. 2022-32 (Jul 15 2009) ISSN: 1090-2422 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 19393235 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal
• Tamoxifen
• Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases
• Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
• Protein Kinase C
• Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases
• Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases

Topics

• Animals
• Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal (pharmacology)
• Cell Line, Tumor
• Cell Movement (drug effects)
• Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases (physiology)
• Lung Neoplasms (metabolism, secondary)
• Melanoma, Experimental (metabolism, pathology)
• Mice
• Mice, Inbred C57BL
• Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (physiology)
• Neoplasm Invasiveness
• Neoplasm Transplantation
• Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases (physiology)
• Phosphorylation
• Protein Kinase C (physiology)
• Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt (physiology)
• Signal Transduction (drug effects)
• Tamoxifen (pharmacology)