Estrogen receptor β inhibits estradiol-induced proliferation and migration of MCF-7 cells through regulation of mitofusin 2

In the present study, we investigated whether estrogen receptor (ER) beta affected the proliferation and migration of the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 through regulation of mitofusin 2 (mfn2). A previous study reported that mfn2 may be regulated by ER through a non-classical pathway; in this pathway, the ER modulates the activities of other transcription factors by stabilizing their binding to DNA and/or recruiting coactivators to the complex. However, the previous study, unlike the study presented here, did not directly explore the interactions between ER and mfn2. Here, RT-PCR and western blot analysis were used to test the expression of mfn2 in MCF-7 cells after exposure to different doses of estradiol (E2). The ability of cells to proliferate and migrate was determined by MTT assay and a monolayer-wounding protocol, respectively. Finally, changes in MCF-7 cell biology after transfection with ER beta or mfn2 expression vectors were investigated, and the role of ER(3 in mfn2 expression was also explored. Our results showed that E2 attenuated mfn2 expression in a dose-dependent manner, concomitant with the activation of proliferation and migration of MCF-7 cells. The mfn2 expression vector effectively suppressed E2-induced upregulation of PCNA and migration in MCF-7 cells. ER beta inhibited the E2-induced mfn2 downregulation that accompanied the inhibition of proliferation and migration in MCF-7 cells. Briefly, ER beta may inhibit E2-induced proliferation and migration of MCF-7 cells through regulation of mfn2.