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Published in: Breast Cancer Research and Treatment 2/2015

01-06-2015 | Preclinical study

AroER tri-screen™ is a novel functional assay to estimate both estrogenic and estrogen precursor activity of chemicals or biological specimens

Authors: Noriko Kanaya, Duc M. Nguyen, Hannah Lu, Yuan-Zhong Wang, Li-Yu Hsin, Myrto Petreas, David Nelson, Weihong Guo, Peggy Reynolds, Tim Synold, Shiuan Chen

Published in: Breast Cancer Research and Treatment | Issue 2/2015

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Abstract

The purpose of the study is to define AroER tri-screen’s utility for identifying endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that target aromatase and/or estrogen receptor (ER), and to measure the total estrogenic activity in biological specimens. ER-positive, aromatase-expressing MCF-7 breast cancer cells were stably transfected with an estrogen responsive element (ERE)-driven luciferase reporter plasmid to yield a new high-throughput screening platform—the AroER tri-screen. AroER tri-screen was capable of identifying estrogen precursors, such as cortodoxone, which function as estrogens through a two-step conversion process in aromatase-expressing tissue. Furthermore, the system proved useful for assessing EDC activity in biologically relevant samples. Estimating these activities is critical because natural estrogens and estrogenic EDCs are important factors in ER-positive breast cancer risk. As our research demonstrates, incorporating functionally active aromatase into the AroER tri-screen produces a powerful and unique tool to (1) identify new EDCs targeting aromatase and/or ER; (2) discover novel EDCs activated by aromatase; and (3) estimate overall estrogenic activities in biological samples as a potential intermediate risk factor for breast cancer.
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Metadata
Title
AroER tri-screen™ is a novel functional assay to estimate both estrogenic and estrogen precursor activity of chemicals or biological specimens
Authors
Noriko Kanaya
Duc M. Nguyen
Hannah Lu
Yuan-Zhong Wang
Li-Yu Hsin
Myrto Petreas
David Nelson
Weihong Guo
Peggy Reynolds
Tim Synold
Shiuan Chen
Publication date
01-06-2015
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Breast Cancer Research and Treatment / Issue 2/2015
Print ISSN: 0167-6806
Electronic ISSN: 1573-7217
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-015-3398-z

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