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Differential expression of hyaluronan synthase 2 in breast carcinoma and its biological significance
Author(s) -
Lien HuangChun,
Lee YiHsuan,
Jeng YungMing,
Lin ChingHung,
Lu YenShen,
Yao YuTung
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
histopathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.626
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1365-2559
pISSN - 0309-0167
DOI - 10.1111/his.12390
Subject(s) - breast cancer , hyaluronan synthase , immunohistochemistry , cancer research , pathology , phenotype , biology , breast carcinoma , cancer , medicine , oncology , gene , biochemistry
Aims Hyaluronan synthase 2 ( HAS 2) is an enzyme in hyaluronan synthesis. Several studies have demonstrated that HAS 2 plays a critical role in tumour progression in breast cancer cells. The in‐situ expression patterns of HAS 2 remain unclear, and the aim of this study was to determine these in order to elucidate the role of HAS 2 in breast cancer. Methods and results We examined HAS 2 expression using immunohistochemistry in 244 breast carcinomas of various subtypes. We found expression of HAS 2 in 30.6% of invasive ductal carcinomas ( IDC s); in IDC s, HAS 2 expression was correlated significantly with the triple‐negative phenotype and the basal‐like phenotype, and univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that it was associated with poorer overall survival. In contrast to other carcinoma subtypes, HAS 2 expression was observed in up to 72.7% of metaplastic carcinomas of breast ( MCB ), a carcinoma subtype related to the epithelial–mesenchymal transition ( EMT ). Consistently, we noted up‐regulated levels of HAS 2 RNA and protein in TGF ‐β‐induced EMT in MCF ‐10 A mammary epithelial cells. Conclusion Our findings demonstrate that HAS 2 plays a role in aggressive phenotypes of primary breast carcinoma. The strong expression of HAS 2 in MCB and the up‐regulation of HAS 2 in breast cells induced to exhibit EMT implicates an association between HAS 2 expression and EMT in breast cancer.