Estrogen promotes tumor phenotypes in ER+ and ER- breast cancer through UGDH-GPR30

Estrogen can promote aggressive tumor phenotypes in estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer; however, ER- cell lines are not widely considered estrogen responsive. Noncanonical estrogen-stimulated pathways such as the membrane-bound G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPR30) can mediate migratory and proliferative phenotypes in breast cancer and are postulated to promote resistance to aromatase therapies. Moreover, dysregulation of UDP-glucose 6-dehydrogenase (UGDH), a ubiquitously expressed enzyme critical to the metabolism of UDP-glucuronic acid into extracellular matrix precursors and hormone regulation, is associated with tumorigenesis. Here, we illustrated the impact of estrogen stimulation on tumor phenotypes in ER+ and ER- cell models in vitro and in vivo. We then demonstrated UGDH's association with metastatic breast cancer via single-cell sequencing of patient specimens. Genetic knockdown of UGDH blunted estrogen-stimulated tumor phenotypes in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo using both ER+ and ER- breast cancer lines. Finally, we demonstrated that UGDH knockdown blunted noncanonical estrogen stimulation through GPR30. Ultimately, our study validated prior studies demonstrating estrogen-responsive malignant phenotypes in ER- breast cancer and demonstrated that estrogen-stimulated breast cancer progression can be mediated through noncanonical pathways (e.g., UGDH/GPR30), regardless of ER status.