Abstract 1149: Decitabine inhibits breast cancer cell proliferation through inhibition of endogenous retroviruses in vitro

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of the study is to elucidate the antineoplastic mechanisms of decitabine, a DNA methyltransferase inhibitor. Previous literature suggests that decitabine activates human endogenous retroviruses which subsequently enhances expression of interferons, thereby suppressing tumor cell proliferation. Contrary to this hypothesis, our in vitro study with human and mouse breast cancer cell lines showed a positive correlation between the antiproliferative effect of decitabine and its suppressive effect on two endogenous retroviruses, the human endogenous retrovirus type K (HERV-K) and the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV). Decitabine stimulated proliferation of the T47D human breast cancer cell line at lower doses but inhibited cell proliferation at higher doses. Correspondingly, HERV-K transcripts (env and pol) increased at lower doses and decreased at higher doses. Interestingly, expression of the E-cadherin gene, an indicator of epithelial differentiation, followed an opposite trend. Decitabine inhibited proliferation of the mouse 4T1 breast cancer cell line and its expression of MMTV in a dose-dependent manner, while enhancing expression of the mouse E-cadherin. 4T1 cells overexpressing MMTV env became more resistant to decitabine, so was a human breast cancer cell line (BT-20) overexpressing HERV-K env, while T47D cells with HERV-K knockdown became more susceptible to the drug. Meanwhile, in vivo studies showed that decitabine successfully suppressed tumor development in BALB/c mice inoculated with 4T1 cells. Surprisingly, expression of MMTV env was elevated in tumors of mice treated with decitabine, along with enhanced E-cadherin expression. These data suggest decitabine inhibits cancer cell proliferation (at least partially) through inhibition of endogenous retroviruses in vitro, but its mechanisms of action in vivo are different. Further studies of the interaction between decitabine and endogenous retroviruses using engineered 4T1 cells in BALB/c mice are currently underway. Citation Format: Jiayi Li, John Lin, Leo Andrada, Bryce Grohol, Serratt Nong, Yingguang Liu. Decitabine inhibits breast cancer cell proliferation through inhibition of endogenous retroviruses in vitro [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 1149.