DC-SCRIPT is a novel regulator of the tumor suppressor gene CDKN2B and induces cell cycle arrest in ERα-positive breast cancer cells.

Breast cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer-related deaths in women. The estrogen receptor (ERα) is well known for having growth promoting effects in breast cancer. Recently, we have identified DC-SCRIPT (ZNF366) as a co-suppressor of ERα and as a strong and independent prognostic marker in ESR1 (ERα gene)-positive breast cancer patients. In this study, we further investigated the molecular mechanism on how DC-SCRIPT inhibits breast cancer cell growth. DC-SCRIPT mRNA levels from 190 primary ESR1-positive breast tumors were related to global gene expression, followed by gene ontology and pathway analysis. The effect of DC-SCRIPT on breast cancer cell growth and cell cycle arrest was investigated using novel DC-SCRIPT-inducible MCF7 breast cancer cell lines. Genome-wide expression profiling of DC-SCRIPT-expressing MCF7 cells was performed to investigate the effect of DC-SCRIPT on cell cycle-related gene expression. Findings were validated by real-time PCR in a cohort of 1,132 ESR1-positive breast cancer patients. In the primary ESR1-positive breast tumors, DC-SCRIPT expression negatively correlated with several cell cycle gene ontologies and pathways. DC-SCRIPT expression strongly reduced breast cancer cell growth in vitro, breast tumor growth in vivo, and induced cell cycle arrest. In addition, in the presence of DC-SCRIPT, multiple cell cycles related genes were differentially expressed including the tumor suppressor gene CDKN2B. Moreover, in 1,132 primary ESR1-positive breast tumors, DC-SCRIPT expression also correlated with CDKN2B expression. Collectively, these data show that DC-SCRIPT acts as a novel regulator of CDKN2B and induces cell cycle arrest in ESR1-positive breast cancer cells.