GPR30, the Non-Classical Membrane G Protein Related Estrogen Receptor, Is Overexpressed in Human Seminoma and Promotes Seminoma Cell Proliferation

PLOS ONE, April 2012

22496838

Nicolas Chevalier, Aurélie Vega, Adil Bouskine, Bénazir Siddeek, Jean-François Michiels, Daniel Chevallier, Patrick Fénichel

Testicular germ cell tumours are the most frequent cancer of young men with an increasing incidence all over the world. Pathogenesis and reasons of this increase remain unknown but epidemiological and clinical data have suggested that fetal exposure to environmental endocrine disruptors (EEDs) with estrogenic effects, could participate to testicular germ cell carcinogenesis. However, these EEDs (like bisphenol A) are often weak ligands for classical nuclear estrogen receptors. Several research groups recently showed that the non classical membrane G-protein coupled estrogen receptor (GPER/GPR30) mediates the effects of estrogens and several xenoestrogens through rapid non genomic activation of signal transduction pathways in various human estrogen dependent cancer cells (breast, ovary, endometrium). The aim of this study was to demonstrate that GPER was overexpressed in testicular tumours and was able to trigger JKT-1 seminoma cell proliferation.