Perfluorooctanoic acid stimulates migration of estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer cells via up-regulation of fatty acid 2-hydroxylase (FA2H), a PPARα-regulated gene

Abstract

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) exposure correlates with estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer risk, and it can activate peroxisome proliferator-activated receptorα (PPARα). We previously demonstrated that fatty acid 2-hydroxylase (FA2H), which is regulated by PPARα, can stimulate the migration of ER-negative breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells (JTS, 38: 305, 2013; Toxicology, 326: 18, 2014; ABB, 662: 219, 2019; BBRC, 531: 215, 2020; JTS, 47: 159, 2022). In this study, it was shown that PFOA stimulates the migration of MDA-MB-231 cells without affecting proliferation through PPARα-FA2H axis.