Correction to: Platelets promote breast cancer cell MCF-7 metastasis by direct interaction: surface integrin α2ß1-contacting-mediated activation of Wnt-ß-catenin pathway.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Platelets promote breast cancer cell MCF-7 metastasis by direct interaction: surface integrin α2ß1-contacting-mediated activation of Wnt-ß-catenin pathway.

BACKGROUND: Integrin-mediated platelet-tumor cell contacting plays an important role in promoting epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) transformation of tumor cells and cancer metastasis, but whether it occurs in breast cancer cells is not completely clear. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of integrin α2ß1 in platelet contacting to human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and its effect on the EMT and the invasion of MCF-7 cells. METHODS: Human platelets were activated by thrombin, and separated into pellets and releasates before the co-incubation with MCF-7 cells. Cell invasion was evaluated by transwell assay. The surface integrins on pellets and MCF-7 cells were inhibited by antibodies. The effect of integrin α2ß1 on Wnt-ß-catenin pathway was assessed by integrin α2ß1-silencing and Wnt-ß-catenin inhibitor XAV. The therapeutic effect of integrin α2ß1-silencing was confirmed in the xenograft mouse model. RESULTS: Pellets promote the invasion and EMT of MCF-7 cells via direct contacting of surface integrin α2ß1. The integrin α2ß1 contacting activates Wnt-ß-catenin pathway and promotes the expression of EMT proteins in MCF-7 cells. The activated Wnt-ß-catenin pathway also promotes the autocrine of TGF-ß1 in MCF-7 cells. Both Wnt-ß-catenin and TGF-ß1/pSmad3 pathways promote the expression of EMT proteins. Integrin α2ß1-silencing inhibits breast cancer metastasis in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: The direct interaction between platelets and tumor cells exerts its pro-metastatic function via surface integrin α2ß1 contacting and Wnt-ß-catenin activation. Integrin α2ß1-silencing has the potential effect of inhibiting breast cancer metastasis.

Comparison of clinical efficacy of three different neoadjuvant approaches (chemotherapy combined vaginal intracavitary irradiation, neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone or radiotherapy) combined with surgery for patients with stage Ib2 and IIa2 cervical cancer.

A total of 285 patients with stage Ib2 and IIa2 cervical cancer were categorized into three groups, and received preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with vaginal intracavitary irradiation, neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone or radiotherapy, respectively. The effective rate of 70.6 % in group 1 was much higher than 41.4% in group 2 (P=0.000) and 46.9 % in group 3 (P=0.000); The percentage of patients receiving postoperative adjuvant therapy was 44.1% in group 1, much lower than 67.8% in group 2 (P=0.001) and 64.6% in group 3 (P=0.004); The percentage of patients with no postoperative risk factor in group 1 was 52.0%, much higher than 32.2% in group 2 (P=0.006) and 35.4% in group 3 (P=0.019); The occurrence rate of surgery-related complications in groups 1, 2 and 3 were 29.4%, 28.7%, and 33.3%, respectively, with no statistical differences among the groups (P=0.981). Regarding preoperative neoadjuvant complications, none were obvious in group 3, while occurrence rates of myelosuppression in groups 1 and 2 were 89.1% and 86.6%, of nausea and vomitting were 78.4% and 78.2%, but without significant differences (all P>0.05). Among 166 patients who received postoperative adjuvant therapy in the three groups, the occurrence rates were: 65.4%, 64.3% and 61.1% respectively for myelosuppression; 42.3%, 38.1%, and 38.9% for nausea and vomiting; 9.6%, 9.5% and 9.7% for urocystitis; and 63.5%, 69.0% and 65.3% enteritis and rectitis. There were no statistically significant differences among them (all P>0.05). The five-year disease-free survival rates (DFS) in groups 1, 2, 3 were 78.3%, 75.1%, 80.9%, respectively; the five-year overall survival rates (OS) were 81.4%, 78.2%, and 81.1%, respectively. The five-year OS of 166 patients receiving postoperative in the three groups were 72.4%, 69.5%, and 71.8%, respectively, with no significant variation (all P>0.05). Although there were no differences among three groups in DFS and OS, preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with intracavitary radiotherapy may increase the effective rate and the percentage of patients with no postoperative risk factors and decrease the percentage of patients receiving postoperative adjuvant therapy, thereby decreasing complications indirectly and increasing quality of life.