Call on the reserve: Coronary vasomotor dysfunction is a potential biomarker of cardiovascular risk in patients with breast cancer

Purpose: Estrogen-responsive finger protein (Efp) is amember ofRINGfinger-B box-Coiled Coilfamily and is also a downstream target of estrogen receptor a. Previously, Efp was shown tomediate estrogen-induced cell growth, which suggests possible involvement in the developmentof human breast carcinomas. In this study, we examined expression of Efp in breast carcinomatissues and correlated these findings with various clinicopathologic variables.Experimental Design: Thirty frozen specimens of breast carcinomas were used for immunohistochemistryand laser capture microdissection/real-time PCR of Efp. Immunohistochemistryfor Efp was also done in 151breast carcinoma specimens fixed with formalin and embedded inparaffinwax.Results: Efp immunoreactivity was detected in breast carcinoma cells and was significantlyassociated with the mRNA level (n = 30). Efp immunoreactivity was positively associated withlymph node status or estrogen receptor a status and negatively correlated with histologic gradeor 14-3-3j immunoreactivity (n = 151). Moreover, Efp immunoreactivity was significantly correlatedwith poor prognosis of breast cancer patients, and multivariate analyses of disease-freesurvival and overall survival for151breast cancer patients showed that Efp immunoreactivity wasthe independentmarker.Conclusions: Our data suggest that Efp immunoreactivity is a significant prognostic factor inbreast cancer patients. These findings may account for an oncogenic role of Efp in the tumorprogression of breast carcinoma.

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CDK12 Promotes Breast Cancer Progression and Maintains Stemness by Activating c-myc/β -catenin Signaling

Current Cancer Drug Targets ◽

10.2174/1568009619666191118113220 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 156-165 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Fang Peng ◽

Chuansheng Yang ◽

Yanan Kong ◽

Xiaojia Huang ◽

Yanyu Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Cancer Cell ◽

Breast Cancer Cell ◽

Lung Metastasis ◽

Xenograft Model ◽

Breast Cancer Cell Lines ◽

Cell Renewal ◽

Cancer Stemness ◽

Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Potential Biomarker

Background: CDK12 is a promising therapeutic target in breast cancer with an effective ability of maintaining cancer cell stemness. Objective: We aim to investigate the mechanism of CDK12 in maintaining breast cancer stemness. Methods: CDK12 expression level was accessed by using RT-qPCR and IHC. CDK12-altered breast cancer cell lines MDA-MB-231-shCDK12 and SkBr-3-CDK12 were then established. CCK8, colony formation assays, and xenograft model were used to value the effect of CDK12 on tumorigenicity. Transwell assay, mammosphere formation, FACS, and lung metastasis model in vivo were determined. Western blot further characterized the mechanism of CDK12 in breast cancer stemness through the c-myc/β-catenin pathway. Results: Our results showed a higher level of CDK12 exhibited in breast cancer samples. Tumor formation, cancer cell mobility, spheroid forming, and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition will be enhanced in the CDK12high group. In addition, CDK12 was associated with lung metastasis and maintained breast cancer cell stemness. CDK12high cancer cells presented higher tumorigenicity and a population of CD44+ subset compared with CDK12low cells. Our study demonstrated c-myc positively expressed with CDK12. The c-myc/β-catenin signaling was activated by CDK12, which is a potential mechanism to initiate breast cancer stem cell renewal and may serve as a potential biomarker of breast cancer prognosis. Conclusion: CDK12 overexpression promotes breast cancer tumorigenesis and maintains the stemness of breast cancer by activating c-myc/β-catenin signaling. Inhibiting CDK12 expression may become a potential therapy for breast cancer.

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Serum Carboxypeptidase N1 Serves as a Potential Biomarker Complementing CA15-3 for Breast Cancer

Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry ◽

10.2174/1871520620666200703191135 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (17) ◽

pp. 2053-2065

Author(s):

Ranliang Cui ◽

Chaomin Wang ◽

Qi Zhao ◽

Yichao Wang ◽

Yueguo Li

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Metastatic Breast Cancer ◽

Critical Concentration ◽

Tumour Size ◽

Clinical Stage ◽

Metastatic Breast ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

Potential Biomarker ◽

Incidence And Mortality ◽

Combined Detection

Background: The incidence and mortality of breast cancer are increasing annually. Breast cancer seriously threatens women's health and quality of life. We aimed to measure the clinical value of CPN1, a new serum marker of breast cancer and to evaluate the efficacy of CPN1 in combination with CA15-3. Methods: Seventy samples of breast cancer with lymph node metastasis, seventy-three samples of nonmetastatic breast cancer and twenty-five samples of healthy human serum were collected. Serum CA15-3 concentration was determined by Roche Elecsys, and serum CPN1 concentration was determined by ELISA. Results: In breast cancer patients, serum CPN1 concentration was positively correlated with tumour size, clinical stage and CA15-3 concentration (r = 0.376, P<0.0001). ROC curve analysis showed that the optimal critical concentration of CPN1 for breast cancer diagnosis was 32.8pg/ml. The optimal critical concentration of CPN1 in the diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer was 66.121pg/ml. CPN1 has a greater diagnostic ability for breast cancer (AUCCA15-3=0.702 vs. AUCCPN1=0.886, P<0.0001) and metastatic breast cancer (AUCCA15-3=0.629 vs. AUCCPN1=0.887, P<0.0001) than CA15-3, and the combined detection of CA15-3 and CPN1 can improve the diagnostic efficiency for breast cancer (AUCCA15-3+CPN1=0.916) and for distinguishing between metastatic and non-metastatic breast cancer (AUCCA15-3+CPN1=0.895). Conclusion: CPN1 can be used as a new tumour marker to diagnose and evaluate the invasion and metastasis of breast cancer. The combined detection of CPN1 and CA15-3 is more accurate and has a certain value in clinical application.

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Hsa_circ_0005273 facilitates breast cancer tumorigenesis by regulating YAP1-hippo signaling pathway

Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research ◽

10.1186/s13046-021-01830-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 40 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Xuehui Wang ◽

Changle Ji ◽

Jiashu Hu ◽

Xiaochong Deng ◽

Wenfang Zheng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Signaling Pathway ◽

Cell Lines ◽

Luciferase Reporter ◽

Circular Rnas ◽

Hippo Signaling ◽

Hippo Signaling Pathway ◽

Potential Biomarker

Abstract Background Circular RNAs (circRNAs), a novel class of endogenous RNAs, have shown to participate in the development of breast cancer (BC). Hsa_circ_0005273 is a circRNA generated from several exons of PTK2. However, the potential functional role of hsa_circ_0005273 in BC remains largely unknown. Here we aim to evaluate the role of hsa_circ_0005273 in BC. Methods The expression level of hsa_circ_0005273 and miR-200a-3p were examined by RT-qPCR in BC tissues and cell lines. The effect of knocking down hsa_circ_0005273 in BC cell lines were evaluated by examinations of cell proliferation, migration and cell cycle. In addition, xenografts experiment in nude mice were performed to evaluate the effect of hsa_circ_0005273 in BC. RNA immunoprecipitation assay, RNA probe pull-down assay, luciferase reporter assay and fluorescence in situ hybridization were conducted to confirm the relationship between hsa_circ_0005273, miR-200a-3p and YAP1. Results Hsa_circ_0005273 is over-expressed in BC tissues and cell lines, whereas miR-200a-3p expression is repressed. Depletion of hsa_circ_0005273 inhibited the progression of BC cells in vitro and in vivo, while overexpression of hsa_circ_0005273 exhibited the opposite effect. Importantly, hsa_circ_0005273 upregulated YAP1 expression and inactivated Hippo pathway via sponging miR-200a-3p to promote BC progression. Conclusions Hsa_circ_0005273 regulates the miR-200a-3p/YAP1 axis and inactivates Hippo signaling pathway to promote BC progression, which may become a potential biomarker and therapeutic target.

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VWCE as a potential biomarker associated with immune infiltrates in breast cancer

Cancer Cell International ◽

10.1186/s12935-021-01955-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Qin Huo ◽

Zhenwei Li ◽

Siqi Chen ◽

Juan Wang ◽

Jiaying Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Immune Cell ◽

Her2 Status ◽

Cancer Tissue ◽

M2 Macrophage ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

Immune Infiltration ◽

Potential Biomarker ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Factor C

Abstract Purpose Von Willebrand Factor C and EGF Domains (VWCE) is an important gene that regulates cell adhesion, migration, and interaction. However, the correlation between VWCE expression and immune infiltrating in breast cancer remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the correlation between VWCE expression and immune infiltration levels in breast cancer. Methods The expression of VWCE was analyzed by the tumor immune estimation resource (TIMER) and DriverDB databases. Furthermore, genes co-expressed with VWCE and gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis were investigated by the STRING and Enrichr web servers. Also, we performed the single nucleotide variation (SNV), copy number variation (CNV), and pathway activity analysis through GSCALite. Subsequently, the relationship between VWCE expression and tumor immunity was analyzed by TIMER and TISIDB databases, and further verified the results using Quantitative Real-Time PCR (RT-PCR), Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. Results The results showed that the expression of VWCE mRNA in breast cancer tissue was significantly lower than that in normal tissues. We found that the expression level of VWCE was associated with subtypes, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) status of breast cancer patients, but there was no significant difference in the expression of VWCE was found in age and nodal status. Further analyses indicated that VWCE was correlated with the activation or inhibition of multiple oncogenic pathways. Additionally, VWCE expression was negatively correlated with the expression of STAT1 (Th1 marker, r = − 0.12, p = 6e−05), but positively correlated with the expression of MS4A4A (r = 0.28, p = 0). These results suggested that the expression of VWCE was correlated with immune infiltration levels of Th1 and M2 macrophage in breast cancer. Conclusions In our study, VWCE expression was associated with a better prognosis and was immune infiltration in breast cancer. These findings demonstrate that VWCE is a potential prognostic biomarker and correlated with tumor immune cell infiltration, and maybe a promising therapeutic target in breast cancer.

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The Biological and Clinical Significance of Glutaminase in Luminal Breast Cancer

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers13163963 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (16) ◽

pp. 3963

Author(s):

Brendah K. Masisi ◽

Rokaya El Ansari ◽

Lutfi Alfarsi ◽

Madeleine L. Craze ◽

Natasha Jewa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Patient Outcome ◽

Ductal Carcinoma ◽

Tumour Size ◽

Prognostic Significance ◽

Disease Free Survival ◽

Glutamine Metabolism ◽

Gene Copy ◽

Luminal Breast Cancer ◽

Potential Biomarker

The glutamine metabolism has a key role in the regulation of uncontrolled tumour growth. This study aimed to evaluate the expression and prognostic significance of glutaminase in luminal breast cancer (BC). The glutaminase isoforms (GLS/GLS2) were assessed at genomic/transcriptomic levels, using METABRIC (n = 1398) and GeneMiner datasets (n = 4712), and protein using immunohistochemistry in well-characterised cohorts of Oestrogen receptor-positive/HER2-negative BC patients: ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS; n = 206) and invasive breast cancer (IBC; n = 717). Glutaminase expression was associated with clinicopathological features, patient outcome and glutamine-metabolism-related genes. In DCIS, GLS alone and GLS+/GLS2- expression were risk factors for shorter local recurrence-free interval (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.001, respectively) and remained prognostic factors independent of tumour size, grade and comedo necrosis (p = 0.0008 and p = 0.003, respectively). In IBC, GLS gene copy number gain with high mRNA expression was associated with poor patient outcome (p = 0.011), whereas high GLS2 protein was predictive of a longer disease-free survival (p = 0.006). Glutaminase plays a role in the biological function of luminal BC, particularly GLS in the early non-invasive stage, which could be used as a potential biomarker to predict disease progression and a target for inhibition. Further validation is required to confirm these observations, and functional assessments are needed to explore their specific roles.

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Deregulation of protein phosphatase 2A inhibitor SET is associated with malignant progression in breast cancer

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-93620-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Katsunori Tozuka ◽

Pattama Wongsirisin ◽

Shigenori E. Nagai ◽

Yasuhito Kobayashi ◽

Miki Kanno ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Cancer Progression ◽

Protein Phosphatase ◽

Protein Phosphatase 2A ◽

Recurrent Breast Cancer ◽

Stage I ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

Potential Biomarker ◽

Phosphatase 2A ◽

Mcf 7

AbstractTo understand the mechanism underlying metastasis, identification of a mechanism-based and common biomarker for circulating tumour cells (CTCs) in heterogenous breast cancer is needed. SET, an endogenous inhibitor of protein phosphatase 2A, was overexpressed in all subtypes of invasive breast carcinoma tissues. Treatment with SET-targeted siRNAs reduced the motility of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells in transwell assay. SET knockdown reduced the number of mammospheres by 60–70% in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells, which was associated with the downregulation of OCT4 and SLUG. Hence, we analysed the presence of SET-expressing CTCs (SET-CTCs) in 24 breast cancer patients. CTCs were enriched using a size-based method and then immunocytochemically analysed using an anti-SET antibody. SET-CTCs were detected in 6/6 (100%) patients with recurrent breast cancer with a median value of 12 (12 cells/3 mL blood), and in 13/18 (72.2%) patients with stage I–III breast cancer with a median value of 2.5, while the median value of healthy controls was 0. Importantly, high numbers of SET-CTCs were correlated with lymph node metastasis in patients with stage I–III disease. Our results indicate that SET contributes to breast cancer progression and can act as a potential biomarker of CTCs for the detection of metastasis.

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