Vitamin D3 must be metabolically activated by the liver to 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25OHD3) and then by the kidney 1alphahydroxylase (1alphaOHase) to become 1,25dihydroxyvitamin D 3 (1,25(OH)2D3). 1,25(OH)2 D3 is a potent inhibitor of tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. Recent studies indicate that metabolic activation of 1,25(OH) 2D3 also occurs in cancer cells such as breast cancer. Consequently, the major objective of this project was to determine if tumoral 25OHD 3-1alphahydroxylase modulates any or all of the stages of breast tumor progression without inducing the hypercalcemic side effects of 1,25(OH) 2D3. For this purpose we used the PyVMT breast cancer mouse model in which the oncoprotein, polyomamiddle T antigen (PyMT) is under the control of mouse mammary tumor virus LTR (MMTV LTR). Mice exhibited tumors restricted to the mammary epithelium progressing to the various stages of breast cancer. Animals were treated with either vehicle, 25OHD3 (2000 pM/24h) or 1,25(OH)2D3 (12pM/24h). Mice treated with the vitamin D precursor, 25OHD3, exhibited a marked reduction in tumor onset and growth comparable to the 1,25(OH)2D3 treated group. Furthermore, biomarkers of tumor progression were markedly reduced in 25OHD3 and 1,25(OH)2D3 animals as compared to vehicle-treated animals. However, mean circulating calcium concentrations remained unchanged in 25OHD3 treated animals but increased significantly in 1,25(OH)2D3 treated animals as compared to controls. Tumoral levels of 1,25(OH)2D3 in mice treated with 25OHD3 were increased 79% in comparison to vehicle control mice. Additionally, 25OHD3 and 1,25(OH)2D 3 treated animals had a significant decrease in the mean number of lung metastases per animal as compared to vehicle treated control animals. This study therefore suggests an important autocrine role of 1alphaOHase expression in breast tumor cells. Furthermore, accumulation of intra-tumoral 1,25(OH) 2D3 in response to 25OHD3 administration strongly suggests that locally produced 1,25(OH)2D3 plays a significant role in restraining tumor growth without inducing the hypercalcemic side effects associated with 1,25(OH)2D3.

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