Conde I, Paniagua R, Zamora J, Blánquez M J, Fraile B, Ruiz A, Arenas M I
Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, University of Alcalá, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
Ann Oncol. 2006 Jan;17(1):60-4. doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdj040. Epub 2005 Nov 9.
The involvement of thyroid hormones in the development and differentiation of normal breast tissue has been established. However, the association between breast cancer and these hormones is controversial. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to determine the protein expression pattern of thyroid hormone receptors in different human breast pathologies and to evaluate their possible relationship with cellular proliferation.
The presence of thyroid hormone receptors was evaluated by immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis in 84 breast samples that included 12 cases of benign proliferative diseases, 20 carcinomas in situ and 52 infiltrative carcinomas.
TR-alpha was detected in the nuclei of epithelial cells from normal breast ducts and acini, while in any pathological type this receptor was located in the cytoplasm. However, TR-beta presented a nuclear location in benign proliferative diseases and carcinomas in situ and a cytoplasmatic location in normal breast and infiltrative carcinomas. The highest proliferation index was observed in carcinomas in situ, although in infiltrative carcinomas an inverse correlation between this index and the TR-alpha expression was encountered.
The results of this study reveal substantial changes in the expression profile of thyroid hormone receptors suggesting a possible deregulation that could trigger breast cancer development.
甲状腺激素在正常乳腺组织的发育和分化中的作用已得到证实。然而，乳腺癌与这些激素之间的关联存在争议。因此，本研究的目的是确定甲状腺激素受体在不同人类乳腺病变中的蛋白表达模式，并评估它们与细胞增殖的可能关系。
通过免疫组织化学和蛋白质印迹分析评估了84例乳腺样本中甲状腺激素受体的存在情况，这些样本包括12例良性增生性疾病、20例原位癌和52例浸润性癌。
在正常乳腺导管和腺泡的上皮细胞核中检测到TR-α，而在任何病理类型中，该受体都位于细胞质中。然而，TR-β在良性增生性疾病和原位癌中呈核定位，在正常乳腺和浸润性癌中呈细胞质定位。原位癌的增殖指数最高，尽管在浸润性癌中该指数与TR-α表达呈负相关。
本研究结果揭示了甲状腺激素受体表达谱的显著变化，提示可能存在失调，这可能引发乳腺癌的发生。
