Lipidome and metabolome analyses reveal metabolic alterations associated with MCF-7 apoptosis upon 4-hydroxytamoxifen treatment

4-hydroxytamoxifen (OHT) is an anti-cancer drug that induces apoptosis in breast cancer cells. Although changes in lipid levels and mitochondrial respiration have been observed in OHT-treated cells, the overall mechanisms underlying these metabolic alterations are poorly understood. In this study, time-series metabolomics and lipidomics were used to analyze the changes in metabolic profiles induced by OHT treatment in the MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line. Lipidomic and metabolomic analyses revealed increases in ceramide, diacylglycerol and triacylglycerol, and decreases in citrate, respectively. Gene expression analyses revealed increased expression of ATP-dependent citrate lyase (ACLY) and subsequent fatty acid biosynthetic enzymes, suggesting that OHT-treated MCF-7 cells activate citrate-to-lipid metabolism. The significance of the observed metabolic changes was evaluated by co-treating MCF-7 cells with OHT and ACLY or a diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) inhibitor. Co-treatment ameliorated cell death and reduced mitochondrial membrane potential compared to that in OHT treatment alone. The inhibition of cell death by co-treatment with an ACLY inhibitor has been observed in other breast cancer cell lines. These results suggest that citrate-to-lipid metabolism is critical for OHT-induced cell death in breast cancer cell lines.