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PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
20
pubmed:dateCreated
2001-10-18
pubmed:abstractText
Many of the major identified risk factors for breast cancer are associated with exposure to endogenous estrogen. In addition to the effects of estrogen as a growth factor, experimental and epidemiological evidence suggest that catechol metabolites of estrogen also contribute to estrogen carcinogenesis by both direct and indirect genotoxic mechanisms. O-Methylation catalyzed by catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is a Phase II metabolic inactivation pathway for catechol estrogens. We and others have found that a polymorphism in the COMT gene, which codes for a low activity variant of the COMT enzyme, is associated with an increased risk of developing breast cancer; therefore, the goal of the current study was to investigate the role of decreased COMT activity on estrogen catechol levels and on oxidative DNA damage, as measured by 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dG) levels. MCF-7 cells were pretreated with dioxin as a means to increase estrogen metabolism to catechol estrogens, then treated with estradiol (E2) +/- Ro 41-0960, a COMT-specific inhibitor. After extraction from culture medium, estrogen metabolites were separated using an high-performance liquid chromatography-electrochemical detection method. As expected, dioxin dramatically increased E2 oxidative metabolism, primarily to its 2-OH and 2-methoxy metabolites. The COMT inhibitor blocked 2-methoxy E2 formation. This was associated with increased 2-hydroxy E2 (2-OH E2) and 8-oxo-dG levels. In the presence of COMT inhibition, increased oxidative DNA damage was detected in MCF-7 cells exposed to as low as 0.1 microM E2, whereas in the absence of COMT inhibition, no increase in 8-oxo-dG was detected at E2 concentrations < or =10 microM. This study is the first to show that O-methylation of 2-OH E2 by COMT is protective against oxidative DNA damage caused by 2-OH E2, a major oxidative metabolite of E2.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Oct
pubmed:issn
0008-5472
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
15
pubmed:volume
61
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
7488-94
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-11-14
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2001
pubmed:articleTitle
The effects of catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibition on estrogen metabolite and oxidative DNA damage levels in estradiol-treated MCF-7 cells.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Environmental Health Science, Division of Toxicological Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21205-2179, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S., Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't