Decreased expression of autophagy protein LC3 and stemness (CD44+/CD24-/low) indicate poor prognosis in triple-negative breast cancer.
Abstract
This study evaluated the prognostic value of expression of autophagy protein light chain 3 (LC3) and the prognostic value of coexpression of LC3 and stemness markers CD44+/CD24-/low in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). LC3 and LC3/CD44+/CD24-/low immunophenotypes in tumor tissues were evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 67 TNBC patients. LC3- was expressed in 30 (44.78%) cases. The LC3- phenotype revealed a significant negative association with overall survival in both univariate (P = .0006) and multivariate (P = .0153) analyses. LC3-/CD44+/CD24-/low phenotype was observed in 24 (35.82%) of 67 TNBC patients. According to Kaplan-Meier analysis, prognosis was significantly worse in tumors with LC3-/CD44+/CD24-/low phenotype (P = .0280). Multivariate analysis indicated that LC3-/CD44+/CD24-/low phenotype was a significant independent prognostic indicator of overall survival. These results suggest that LC3 suppresses TNBC in mature tumor cells and cancer stem cells (CSCs). In conclusion, this study suggests that CSCs are linked to progression of autophagy in TNBC. During the progression and development of TNBC, autophagy of CSCs/progenitor cells is low. LC3-/CD44+/CD24-/low immunophenotype indicates a highly aggressive TNBC su...Continue Reading
References
Citations
Related Concepts
Related Feeds
Breast Cancer Triple-N
Breast cancer cells have receptors for estrogen, progesterone, HER2 receptors (also called ERBB2). Triple-negative breast cancers do not have any of these receptors. Here are the latest discoveries pertaining to triple-negative breast cancers.
Autophagy & Model Organisms
Autophagy is a cellular process that allows degradation by the lysosome of cytoplasmic components such as proteins or organelles. Here is the latest research on autophagy & model organisms