Mammaglobin 1 promotes breast cancer malignancy and confers sensitivity to anticancer drugs.

Mammaglobin 1 (MGB1), a member of the secretoglobin family, is expressed in mammary epithelial tissues and is overexpressed in most mammary carcinomas. Despite the extensive research correlating MGB1 expression profiles to breast cancer pathogenesis and disease outcome, the biological significance of MGB1 in cancer processes is still unclear. We have thus set out to conduct a functional evaluation of the molecular and cellular roles of MGB1 in breast cancer processes leading to disease progression. Using a series of breast cancer cell models with conditional MGB1 expression, we demonstrate that MGB1 promotes cancer cell malignant features. More specifically, loss of MGB1 expression resulted in a decrease of cell proliferation, soft agar spheroid formation, migration, and invasion capacities of breast cancer cells. Concomitantly, we also observed that MGB1 expression activates signaling pathways mediated by MAPK members (p38, JNK, and ERK), the focal adhesion kinase (FAK), matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and NFκB. Moreover, MGB1 regulates epithelial to mesenchymal (EMT) features and modulates Snail, Twist and ZEB1 expression levels. Interestingly, we also observed that expression of MGB1 confers breast cancer cell sensitivity to anticancer drug-induced apoptosis. Together, our results support a role for MGB1 in tumor malignancy in exchange for chemosensitivity. These findings provide one of the first descriptive overview of the molecular and cellular roles of MGB1 in breast cancer processes and may offer new insight to the development of therapeutic and prognostic strategies in breast cancer patients. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Pax-5 Protein Expression Is Regulated by Transcriptional 3'UTR Editing.

The Pax-5 gene encodes a transcription factor that is essential for B-cell commitment and maturation. However, Pax-5 deregulation is associated with various cancer lesions, notably hematopoietic cancers. Mechanistically, studies have characterized genetic alterations within the Pax-5 locus that result in either dominant oncogenic function or haploinsufficiency-inducing mutations leading to oncogenesis. Apart from these mutations, some examples of aberrant Pax-5 expression cannot be associated with genetic alterations. In the present study, we set out to elucidate potential alterations in post-transcriptional regulation of Pax-5 expression and establish that Pax-5 transcript editing represents an important means to aberrant expression. Upon the profiling of Pax-5 mRNA in leukemic cells, we found that the 3'end of the Pax-5 transcript is submitted to alternative polyadenylation (APA) and alternative splicing events. Using rapid amplification of cDNA ends (3'RACE) from polysomal fractions, we found that Pax-5 3' untranslated region (UTR) shortening correlates with increased ribosomal occupancy for translation. These observations were also validated using reporter gene assays with truncated 3'UTR regions cloned downstream of a luciferase gene. We also showed that Pax-5 3'UTR editing has direct repercussions on regulatory elements such as miRNAs, which in turn impact Pax-5 protein expression. More importantly, we found that advanced staging of various hematopoietic cancer lesions relates to shorter Pax-5 3'UTRs. Altogether, our findings identify novel molecular mechanisms that account for aberrant expression and function of the Pax-5 oncogene in cancer cells. These findings also present new avenues for strategic intervention in Pax-5-mediated cancers.

Pax-5 is a potent regulator of E-cadherin and breast cancer malignant processes.

Pax-5, an essential transcription factor for B lymphocyte development, has been linked with the development and progression of lymphoid cancers and carcinoma. In contrast to B-cell cancer lesions, the specific expression signatures and roles of Pax-5 in breast cancer progression are relatively unknown. In the present study, we set out to profile Pax-5 expression in mammary tissues and elucidate the cellular and molecular roles of Pax-5 in breast cancer processes. Using immunohistology on mammary tissue arrays, Pax-5 was detected in a total of 298/306 (97.6%) samples tested. Interestingly, our studies reveal that Pax-5 inhibits aggressive features and confers anti-proliferative effects in breast carcinoma cells in contrast to its oncogenic properties in B cell cancers. More precisely, Pax-5 suppressed breast cancer cell migration, invasion and tumor spheroid formation while concomitantly promoting cell adhesion properties. We also observed that Pax-5 inhibited and reversed breast cancer epithelial to mesenchymal phenotypic transitioning. Mechanistically, we found that the Pax-5 transcription factor binds and induces gene expression of E-cadherin, a pivotal regulator of epithelialisation. Globally, we demonstrate that Pax-5 is predominant expressed factor in mammary epithelial cells. We also present an important role for Pax-5 in the phenotypic transitioning processes and aggressive features associated with breast cancer malignancy and disease progression.

Breast Cancer Malignant Processes are Regulated by Pax-5 Through the Disruption of FAK Signaling Pathways.

The study of genetic factors regulating breast cancer malignancy is a top priority to mitigate the morbidity and mortality associated with this disease. One of these factors, Pax-5, modulates cancer aggressiveness through the regulation of various components of the epithelial to mesenchymal transitioning (EMT) process. We have previously reported that Pax-5 expression profiles in cancer tissues inversely correlate with those of the Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK), a potent activator of breast cancer malignancy. In this study, we set out to elucidate the molecular and regulatory relationship between Pax-5 and FAK in breast cancer processes. Interestingly, we found that Pax-5 mediated suppression of breast cancer cell migration is dependent of FAK activity. Our mechanistic examination revealed that Pax-5 inhibits FAK expression and activation. We also demonstrate that Pax-5 is a potent modulator of FAK repressors (p53 and miR-135b) and activator (NFκB) which results in the overall suppression of FAK-mediated signaling cascades. Altogether, our findings bring more insight to the molecular triggers regulating phenotypic transitioning process and signaling cascades leading to breast cancer progression.

Intracellular expression of inflammatory proteins S100A8 and S100A9 leads to epithelial-mesenchymal transition and attenuated aggressivity of breast cancer cells.

S100 inflammatory proteins have been previously shown to modulate breast cancer processes. More specifically, genome-wide transcriptome studies associate S100A8 and S100A9 members to breast cancer progression and malignancy. Findings have shown that S100A8 and S100A9 can signal and regulate cancer cell behavior through both extracellular and intracellular-initiated cascades. However, functional studies exploring the effects of S100 proteins are often contradictory leaving ambiguity and a paucity of data relating to the specific function of S100A8 and S100A9 in breast cancer progression. In this study we sought to better define the functions of intracellular expressed S100A8 and S100A9 on key signaling and cellular processes driving breast cancer malignancy. We observed that extracellular treatments of the MCF7 breast cancer cell line with S100A8 and S100A9 proteins induces cell proliferation. In contrast, intracellular recombinant expression of S100A8 and S100A9 led to growth suppression. Furthermore our analysis revealed that intracellular-expressed S100A8 and S100A9 promote an epithelial-like phenotype through the induction of key markers, such as Ecadherin, integrin alpha-5 and Zona Occludens 1 (ZO-1). Concomitantly, S100A8 and S100A9 negatively regulate the activity of the promalignant Focal Adhesion Kinase-1 (FAK) signaling cascade leading to changes in cell adhesion and invasion properties. Our results uncover important differences in intracellular versus extracellular initiated S100A8 and S100A9 signaling cascades and their effects on mammary epithelial growth. Importantly, S100A8 and S100A9 appear to suppress breast cancer malignancy through an increase in mesenchymal to epithelial transitioning. Our findings shed insight into S100 protein involvement in breast cancer invasiveness and metastasis and clarify some of the controversies relating to these proteins in breast cancer processes.