A humanized pattern of aromatase expression is associated with mammary hyperplasia in mice.

Aromatase is essential for estrogen production and is the target of aromatase inhibitors, the most effective endocrine treatment for postmenopausal breast cancer. Peripheral tissues in women, including the breast, express aromatase via alternative promoters. Female mice lack the promoters that drive aromatase expression in peripheral tissues; thus, we generated a transgenic humanized aromatase (Arom(hum)) mouse line containing a single copy of the human aromatase gene to study the link between aromatase expression in mammary adipose tissue and breast pathology.

Weight gain increases human aromatase expression in mammary gland.

Adulthood weight gain predicts estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. Because local estrogen excess in the breast likely contributes to cancer development, and aromatase is the key enzyme in estrogen biosynthesis, we investigated the role of local aromatase expression in weight gain-associated breast cancer risk in a humanized aromatase (Arom(hum)) mouse model containing the coding region and the 5'-regulatory region of the human aromatase gene. Compared with littermates on normal chow, female Arom(hum) mice on a high fat diet gained more weight, and had a larger mammary gland mass with elevated total human aromatase mRNA levels via promoters I.

LAT1 regulates growth of uterine leiomyoma smooth muscle cells.

L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1) and LAT2 were shown to encode system L, which mediates the Na(+)-independent transport of branched-chain and aromatic amino acids. We demonstrated previously that LAT2 is a progesterone receptor target gene involved in leiomyoma growth. The role of LAT1 in the regulation of human uterine leiomyoma growth, however, remains unelucidated.