Related Experiment Video For breast cancer
Updated: Feb 2, 2026

Profiling of Estrogen-regulated MicroRNAs in Breast Cancer Cells
Published on: February 21, 2014
Single-Cell Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Estrogen Signaling Coordinately Augments One-Carbon, Polyamine, and Purine
Detu Zhu1, Zuxianglan Zhao1, Guimei Cui1
1Cancer Centre, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau, China; Centre of Precision Medicine Research and Training, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau, China.
Abstract:
Estrogen drives breast cancer (BCa) progression by directly activating estrogen receptor α (ERα). However, because of the stochastic nature of gene transcription, it is important to study the estrogen signaling pathway at the single-cell level to fully understand how ERα regulates transcription. Here, we performed single-cell transcriptome analysis on ERα-positive BCa cells following 17β-estradiol stimulation and reconstructed the dynamic estrogen-responsive transcriptional network from discrete time points into a pseudotemporal continuum. Notably, differentially expressed genes show an estrogen-stimulated metabolic switch that favors biosynthesis but reduces estrogen degradation. Moreover, folate-mediated one-carbon metabolism is reprogrammed through the mitochondrial folate pathway and polyamine and purine synthesis are upregulated coordinately. Finally, we show AZIN1 and PPAT are direct ERα targets that are essential for BCa cell survival and growth. In summary, our study highlights the dynamic transcriptional heterogeneity in ERα-positive BCa cells upon estrogen stimulation and uncovers a mechanism of estrogen-mediated metabolic switch.
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