Dataset Information

Androgen receptor expression predicts breast cancer survival: the role of genetic and epigenetic events.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Breast cancer outcome, including response to therapy, risk of metastasis and survival, is difficult to predict using currently available methods, highlighting the urgent need for more informative biomarkers. Androgen receptor (AR) has been implicated in breast carcinogenesis however its potential to be an informative biomarker has yet to be fully explored. In this study, AR protein levels were determined in a cohort of 73 Grade III invasive breast ductal adenocarcinomas.

Methods

The levels of Androgen receptor protein in a cohort of breast tumour samples was determined by immunohistochemistry and the results were compared with clinical characteristics, including survival. The role of defects in the regulation of Androgen receptor gene expression were examined by mutation and methylation screening of the 5' end of the gene, reporter assays of the 5' and 3' end of the AR gene, and searching for miRNAs that may regulate AR gene expression.

Results

AR was expressed in 56% of tumours and expression was significantly inversely associated with 10-year survival (P = 0.004). An investigation into the mechanisms responsible for the loss of AR expression revealed that hypermethylation of the AR promoter is associated with loss of AR expression in breast cancer cells but not in primary breast tumours. In AR negative breast tumours, mutation screening identified the same mutation (T105A) in the 5'UTR of two AR negative breast cancer patients but not reported in the normal human population. Reporter assay analysis of this mutation however found no evidence for a negative impact on AR 5'UTR activity. The role of miR-124 in regulating AR expression was also investigated, however no evidence for this was found.

Conclusion

This study highlights the potential for AR expression to be an informative biomarker for breast cancer survival and sets the scene for a more comprehensive investigation of the molecular basis of this phenomenon.

SUBMITTER: Peters KM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3349557 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Androgen receptor expression predicts breast cancer survival: the role of genetic and epigenetic events.

Peters Kate M KM Edwards Stacey L SL Nair Shalima S SS French Juliet D JD Bailey Peter J PJ Salkield Kathryn K Stein Sandra S Wagner Sarah S Francis Glenn D GD Clark Susan J SJ Brown Melissa A MA

BMC cancer 20120402

<h4>Background</h4>Breast cancer outcome, including response to therapy, risk of metastasis and survival, is difficult to predict using currently available methods, highlighting the urgent need for more informative biomarkers. Androgen receptor (AR) has been implicated in breast carcinogenesis however its potential to be an informative biomarker has yet to be fully explored. In this study, AR protein levels were determined in a cohort of 73 Grade III invasive breast ductal adenocarcinomas.<h4>Me ...[more]

PMID: 22471922

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Project description:Subpopulations of primary Human Mammary Epithelial Cells (HMEC) have the unique ability to escape a period of growth arrest and continue to proliferate. These cells, called post-selection or variant cells (vHMEC), share features with premalignant breast cancer lesions, including p16INK4A promoter hypermethylation. Epigenetic silencing of tumour suppressor genes through DNA methylation and histone modification is an early event in tumorigenesis. One of the main challenges is to find genes or gene pathways that are commonly silenced to provide early epigenetic diagnostic and therapeutic cancer targets. To identify very early epigenetic events that occur in breast cancer, we used microarrays to screen for gene pathways that were suppressed in post-selection HMECs, but reactivated after treatment with the demethylation agent 5-Aza-2’-deoxycytidine (5-Aza-dC). We found several members of the Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGFb) signalling pathway (THBS1, TGFb2, TGFb R1 & TGFb R2) were consistently down-regulated in the post-selection HMEC population. Gene suppression was not associated with DNA methylation but was associated with chromatin remodelling, involving a decrease in histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27) tri-methylation and an increase in histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) di-methylation and H3K9 de-acetylation. Similar epigenetic repression was also identified MDAMB453 breast cancer cells and in breast tumour samples. These results demonstrate for the first time that TGFb2, its receptors TGFb R1 & TGFb R2 and activator THBS1 are concordantly suppressed early in breast carcinogenesis by repressive histone modifications and indicate that the TGFb signalling pathway is a novel target for gene activation by epigenetic therapy. Keywords: cell differentiation, breast cancer, gene silencing, epigenetics Two-colour reference design was used. Two biological replicates were included in the study - Bre60 and Bre-80. Each cell line was sampled at pre-selection stage, post-selection stage and post AZA treatment. The post-selection stage was chosen as the reference sample, and a control post-post hybridisation included to assess variability across the assay.

Dataset Information

Androgen receptor expression predicts breast cancer survival: the role of genetic and epigenetic events.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Androgen receptor expression predicts breast cancer survival: the role of genetic and epigenetic events.

Similar Datasets

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