Estrogen-dependent gallbladder carcinogenesis in LXRβ-/- female mice

Gallbladder cancer is a highly aggressive disease with poor prognosis that is two to six times more frequent in women than men. The development of gallbladder cancer occurs over a long time (more than 15 y) and evolves from chronic inflammation to dysplasia/metaplasia, carcinoma in situ, and invasive carcinoma. In the present study we found that, in female mice in which the oxysterol receptor liver X receptor-beta (LXR beta) has been inactivated, preneoplastic lesions of the gallbladder developed and evolved to cancer in old animals. LXR beta is a nuclear receptor involved in the control of lipid homeostasis, glucose metabolism, inflammation, proliferation, and CNS development. LXR beta(-/-) female gallbladders were severely inflamed, with regions of dysplasia and high cell density, hyperchromasia, metaplasia, and adenomas. No abnormalities were evident in male mice, nor in LXR alpha(-/-) or LXR alpha(-/-beta-/-) animals of either sex. Interestingly, the elimination of estrogens with ovariectomy prevented development of preneoplastic lesions in LXR beta(-/-) mice. The etiopathological mechanism seems to involve TGF-beta signaling, as the precancerous lesions were characterized by strong nuclear reactivity of phospho-SMAD-2 and SMAD-4 and loss of E-cadherin expression. Upon ovariectomy, E-cadherin was reexpressed on the cell membranes and immunoreactivity of pSMAD-2 in the nuclei was reduced. These findings suggest that LXR beta in a complex interplay with estrogens and TGF-beta could play a crucial role in the malignant transformation of the gallbladder epithelium.