Service de Médecine, Laboratoire d'Investigation Clinique H. J. Tagnon, Institut Jules Bordet, Brussels, Belgium.
We previously reported that human natural autoantibodies enriched in antiestrogen receptor Ig (IgGs) display estrogenic activity in MCF-7 mammary carcinoma cells. In this study, we investigated IgGs' mechanism of action. We showed that: 1) IgGs Fab fragments (which contain only one antigen binding site) induced an estrogenic response in MCF-7 cells, producing estrogen receptor (ER) down-regulation and an increase in progesterone receptor concentration; 2) IgGs specifically inhibited MCF-7 cell surface labeling with fluorescent estradiol (E2)-BSA conjugates; 3) this inhibition of E2-BSA binding to membrane estrogen binding sites was largely caused by natural anti-E2-BSA antibodies (Ab) selectively associated with the natural anti-ER Ab within IgGs; 4) furthermore, these natural anti-E2-BSA Ab accounted for most of IgGs estrogenic activity in cell culture; 5) however, when incubated with cytosolic ER, they did not behave like estrogens, but they decreased ER hormone binding capacity; and 6) although IgGs stimulated cAMP production, their anti-E2-BSA Ab subpopulation did not. In conclusion, the estrogenic activity of IgGs does not involve Ab mimicking E2 molecular configuration or ligand-independent cAMP mediated pathways, membrane Fc receptors, and membrane receptor cross-linking mechanisms. On the contrary, IgGs seem to function by neutralizing estrogen-like epitopes, associated with ER-related peptides, which might inhibit ER activation.