The Src kinase pathway promotes tamoxifen agonist action in Ishikawa endometrial cells through phosphorylation-dependent stabilization of estrogen receptor (alpha) promoter interaction and elevated steroid receptor coactivator 1 activity.

Tamoxifen is the most widely used selective estrogen receptor modulator for breast cancer in clinical use today. However, tamoxifen agonist action in endometrium remains a major hurdle for tamoxifen therapy. Activation of the nonreceptor tyrosine kinase src promotes tamoxifen agonist action, although the mechanisms remain unclear. To examine these mechanisms, the effect of src kinase on estrogen and tamoxifen signaling in tamoxifen-resistant Ishikawa endometrial adenocarcinoma cells was assessed. A novel connection was identified between src kinase and serine 167 phosphorylation in estrogen receptor (ER)-alpha via activation of AKT kinase. Serine 167 phosphorylation stabilized ER interaction with endogenous ER-dependent promoters. Src kinase exhibited the additional function of potentiating the transcriptional activity of Gal-steroid receptor coactivator 1 (SRC-1) and Gal-cAMP response element binding protein-binding protein in endometrial cancer cells while having no effect on Gal-p300-associated factor and Gal fusions of the other p160 coactivators glucocorticoid-interacting protein 1 (transcriptional intermediary factor 2/nuclear coactivator-2/SRC-2) and amplified in breast cancer 1 (receptor-associated coactivator 3/activator of transcription of nuclear receptor/SRC-3). Src effects on ER phosphorylation and SRC-1 activity both contributed to tamoxifen agonist action on ER-dependent gene expression in Ishikawa cells. Taken together, these data demonstrate that src kinase potentiates tamoxifen agonist action through serine 167-dependent stabilization of ER promoter interaction and through elevation of SRC-1 and cAMP response element binding protein-binding protein coactivation of ER.