Abstract

The oxidative metabolism of 17beta-estradiol (E2) and estrone (E1) to catechol estrogens (2-OHE2, 4-OHE2, 2-OHE1, and 4-OHE1) and estrogen quinones has been postulated to be a factor in mammary carcinogenesis. Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) catalyzes the methylation of catechol estrogens to methoxy estrogens, which simultaneously lowers the potential for DNA damage and increases the concentration of 2-methoxyestradiol (2-MeOE2), an antiproliferative metabolite. We expressed two recombinant forms of COMT, the wild-type (108Val) and a common variant (108Met), to determine whether their catalytic efficiencies differ with respect to catechol estrogen inactivation. The His-tagged proteins were purified by nickel-nitrilo-triacetic acid chromatography and analyzed by electrophoresis and Western immunoblot. COMT activity was assessed by determining the methylation of 2-OHE2, 4-OHE2, 2-OHE1, and 4-OHE1, using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry for quantitation of the respective methoxy products. In the case of 2-OHE2 and 2-OHE1, methylation occurred at 2-OH and 3-OH groups, resulting in the formation of 2-MeOE2 and 2-OH-3-MeOE2, and 2-MeOE1 and 2-OH-3-MeOE1, respectively. In contrast, in the case of 4-OHE2 and 4-OHE1, methylation occurred only at the 4-OH group, yielding 4-MeOE2 and 4-MeOE1, respectively. Individual and competition experiments revealed the following order of product formation: 4-MeOE2 > 4-MeOE1 >> 2-MeOE2 > 2-MeOE1 > 2-OH-3-MeOE1 > 2-OH-3-MeOE2. The variant isoform differed from wild-type COMT by being thermolabile, leading to 2-3-fold lower levels of product formation. MCF-7 breast cancer cells with the variant COMT 108Met/Met genotype also displayed 2-3-fold lower catalytic activity than ZR-75 breast cancer cells with the wild-type COMT 108Val/Val genotype. Thus, inherited alterations in COMT catalytic activity are associated with significant differences in catechol estrogen and methoxy estrogen levels and, thereby, may contribute to interindividual differences in breast cancer risk associated with estrogen-mediated carcinogenicity.