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BIOL 432 Final > Hormone Driven Breast Cancer > Flashcards

Hormone Driven Breast Cancer Flashcards

1
Q

What are endocrine disrupting compounds?

A
  • chemicals in our environment that disrupt our hormones and increase our risk of chronic diseases like cancer
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2
Q

What does disruption of biological rhythms alter?

A
  • our hormones and increases risk of chronic diseases
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3
Q

What is a major component of disruption to our environment?

A
  • built indoor environment
  • alters our exposure to natural sunlight and darkness with artificial light
  • geographic location and population differences also factors
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4
Q

Why is indoor lighting a problem?

A
  • new spectral composition

- relative to evolutionary timeline, very new and not adapted to

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5
Q

What wavelength do we need to make serotonin? melatonin? vitamin D?

A
  • 480 nm serotonin
  • absent 480nm melatonin
  • 295nm UVB
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6
Q

What are circadian rhythms?

A
  • physical, mental, and behavioural changes that follow a roughly 24 hour cycle
  • responds primarily to light and darkness
  • animals, plants, and many tiny microbes
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7
Q

What is the study of circadian rhythms called?

A
  • chronobiology
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8
Q

What two pathways does light act on the body with?

A
  • primary optic tract

- retinohypothalamic tract

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9
Q

What is the primary optic tract?

A
  • governs visual perception and responses
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10
Q

What is the retinohypothalamic tract? What wavelengths is it sensitive to?

A
  • governs circadian, endocrine and neurobehavioural functions
  • most sensitive to blue light stimulation energy (459-485nm)
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11
Q

How is light signaled through the retinohypothalamic tract?

A
  • light signals through melanopsin protein that undergoes a chemical change when exposed to light received by intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells
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12
Q

What are some health effects of circadian clock de-regulation?

A
  • insomnia/sleep disorders
  • reduced alertness
  • poor cognitive and motor function
  • depression
  • cancer
  • and more
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13
Q

What does the retinohypothalamic tract govern?

A
  • circadian, endocrine and neurobehavioural functions
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14
Q

Which hormones relate to breast cancer and the hypothalamus exposure to light?

A
  • GnRH
  • estrogen
  • progesterone
  • melatonin
  • serotonin
  • vitamin D (calcitriol)
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15
Q

What is melatonin? When is it secreted? What is it’s precursor?

A
  • “hormone of darkness”
  • secreted at night into blood by the pineal gland to initiate sleep(levels vary in daily cycle)
  • precursor is serotonin
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16
Q

What does the suprachiasmatic nucleus do when exposed to the first light?

A
  • begins performing functions like raising the body temp and releasing stimulating hormones like cortisol
  • delays release of other hormones lie melatonin
17
Q

What is melatonin a regulator of?

A
  • ERalpha and estrogen production
18
Q

What are the steps in the melatonin biosynthesis in the pineal gland?

A
  • starts with tryptophan
  • rate limiting step: serotonin to N-acetylserotonin
  • to melatonin
19
Q

How does melatonin inhibit the estrogen response pathway?

A
  • through binding to MT1
20
Q

What is serotonin? Where is it synthesized?

A
  • neurotransmitter and hormone
  • functions to regulate mood, appetite, memory, and sleep
  • most produced in cells of gut
  • modulation of serotonin levels is the major action of many antidepressants
21
Q

When are serotonin levels highest?

A
  • highest in afternoon
22
Q

What is needed to make serotonin?

A
  • need wavelength of 480nm

- derived from tryptophan

23
Q

What is the role of vitamin D in breast cancer?

A
  • higher levels of vitamin D are associated with decreased risk for breast cancer
  • low natural light exposure results in low vitamin D (suggests serotonin low as well)
24
Q

What does vitamin D inhibit? Where does vitamin D inhibit?

A
  • ERalpha and aromatase in the estrogen pathway
  • COX-2 of the prostaglandin pathway
  • acts in both cancerous breast epithelial cells and breast adipose fibroblasts surrounding the tumor (thus inhibits breast cancer cell proliferation)
25
Q

In what 4 ways does vitamin D inhibit proliferation?

A
  1. induces cell expression of cell cycle arrest proteins and pro-apoptotic cell death proteins (Bax and Bak)
  2. suppresses inflammation by inhibiting inflammatory enzymes (COZ-2)
  3. decreases expression of aromatase (final enzyme in synthesis of estrogen)
  4. down-regulates the expression of estrogen receptor-alpha
26
Q

How are melatonin and breast cancer related?

A
  • exposure to light at night diminishes melatonin production

- exposure to light at night is correlated with breast and prostate cancer

27
Q

What hormones are affected by changes in light and biological rhythms?

A
  • GnRH
  • estrogen
  • progesterone
  • testosterone
  • vitamin D
  • melatonin
28
Q

What neurotransmitters are affected by changes in light and biological rhythms?

A
  • dopamine and serotonin
29
Q

What micronutrients are affected by changes in light and biological rhythms?

A
  • iron
30
Q

What changes in light increase breast cancer risk?

A
  • decreased natural daytime light exposure

- increased exposure to light at night

31
Q

What are the important effects of vitamin D?

A
  • regulates calcium absorption, effects on cell longevity and immune functions
32
Q

What conditions are characterized by low serotonin?

A
  • depression
  • seasonal affective disorder
  • SSRIs: reduced breast cancer risk
33
Q

How might low serotonin, vitamin D and melatonin result in breast cancer?

A
  • low serotonin depress production of melatonin
  • vitamin D activate transcription of initial serotonin-synthesizing gene tryptophan hydroxylase
  • low vitamin D leas to low serotonin leading to low melatonin allowing increased estrogen signalling

BIOL 432 Final (14 decks)

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