Hedgehog gene expression patterns among intrinsic subtypes of breast cancer: Prognostic relevance.

Purpose: Hedgehog (Hh) signaling is a crucial developmental regulatory pathway recognized as a primary oncogenesis driver in various human cancers. However, its role in breast carcinoma (BC) has been underexplored.

Methods: We analyzed the expression of several Hh associated genes in a clinical series and breast cancer cell lines.

CD44 induces FOXP3 expression and is related with favorable outcome in breast carcinoma.

We studied the relationship between CD44 and Forkhead box P3 (FOXP3) gene expression in cell lines and breast carcinomas and their association with clinicopathological variables and patient outcome. We assessed messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of CD44 and FOXP3 by quantitative real-time PCR and determined the number of FOXP3+ Tregs by immunohistochemistry in 264 breast cancer specimens. CD44 was stimulated with hyaluronan treatment, and the accompanying changes in FOXP3 mRNA expression in breast cancer cell lines representing breast cancer subtype were assessed.

Association of Notch pathway down-regulation with Triple Negative/Basal-like breast carcinomas and high tumor-infiltrating FOXP3+ Tregs.

T regulatory cells (Tregs) are a lineage of lymphocytes involved in immune response suppression that are characterized by the expression of the forkhead box P3 (FOXP3) transcription factor. Notch pathway regulates FOXP3 transcription in Tregs, but its role in breast cancer is unknown. We aimed at studying whether Notch pathway regulates FOXP3 expression and Tregs content in breast cancer, and its association with luminal breast carcinomas.

Osteopontin Regulates VEGFA and ICAM-1 mRNA Expression in Breast Carcinoma.

Objectives: To analyze the regulatory role of osteopontin on biomarkers associated with cell survival, invasiveness, and angiogenesis mechanisms in a clinical series and breast cancer cell lines.

Methods: We analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction the messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of osteopontin, Bcl2, intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) in several breast cancer cell lines and in 148 breast carcinomas classified into intrinsic subtypes.

Results: We found coexpression of osteopontin, Bcl2, ICAM-1, and VEGFA in triple-negative MDA-MB-468 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines.