BAG-1 overexpression attenuates luminal apoptosis in MCF-10A mammary epithelial cells through enhanced RAF-1 activation

Although the multi-functional, prosurvival protein, Bcl-2-associated anthanogene 1 (BAG-1) is frequently overexpressed in breast cancers, its role in the development or maintenance of the malignant state remains unclear. Here, we have used the established MCF-10A 3-dimensional (3D) model of mammary morphogenesis as a biologically relevant system to determine how BAG-1 expression may influence the development of breast cancer. When cultured in 3D, MCF-10A cells undergo a highly regulated morphogenic program leading to the development of polarized acinar structures containing a central, hollow lumen formed, in part, through the induction of BIM-dependent apoptosis. BAG-1 overexpression resulted in an attenuation of this normal apoptotic program characterized by a significantly increased number of acini with filled lumens-a phenotype commonly observed in ductal carcinoma in situ. BAG-1's effects were associated with an activation of RAF-1-a known binding partner of BAG-1, enhanced signaling through the MAP kinase pathway and a decrease in BIM expression. Reversal of the BAG-1-associated survival phenotype by the mitogen-activated kinase/ERK kinase inhibitor, U0126, implicates the RAF-1-extracellular signal-regulated kinase signaling pathway as a major mediator of BAG-1's effects in this model. As BAG-1 expression is often elevated in preinvasive breast cancers, these findings support a possible role for BAG-1 as an early contributor to the malignant process in the breast. Oncogene (2010) 29, 527-538; doi: 10.1038/onc.2009.362; published online 2 November 2009