Attenuation of estrogen receptor α (ERα) signaling by selenium in breast cancer cells via downregulation of ERα gene expression

Numerous studies have shown that selenium provides beneficial effects as a cancer chemoprevention agent. Although long-term intervention trials failed to confirm selenium protection against breast cancer in humans because of insufficient cases, the evidence of effective selenium chemoprevention in animal mammary tumor models or human breast cancer cells is substantial and convincing. The present study demonstrates that the selenium compound methylseleninic acid (MSA) inhibits estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha) signaling in ER-positive MCF-7 breast cancer cells as evidenced by decreased estradiol-dependent cell growth and gene expression. MSA diminishes estradiol induction of endogenous ER-regulated pS2 and c-myc genes as well as the expression of an ER-regulated reporter gene. A major mode of MSA action on ER signaling is through a downregulation of ER alpha gene expression that precedes a decrease in ER alpha protein level. This study provides a mechanism driven rationale for using selenium as a chemopreventive agent for women at high risk for developing breast cancer or as a therapeutic strategy for ER-positive breast cancer.