Qin Wenyi, Dasgupta Santanu, Mukhopadhyay Nitai, Sauter Edward R
1 Department of Surgery, University of Texas Health Science Center , Tyler, Texas.
2 Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Texas Health Science Center , Tyler, Texas.
Breastfeed Med. 2016 Mar;11(2):86-90. doi: 10.1089/bfm.2015.0153. Epub 2016 Feb 9.
Women diagnosed with pregnancy-associated breast cancer postpartum have a worse prognosis, stage for stage, than other women with breast cancer. The time of breast involution is tumor promotional. The extracellular matrix protein tenascin-C is upregulated during involution in animal models and promotes breast cancer progression. It interacts with transforming growth factor (TGF)β, which also is involved in breast involution and breast cancer progression. Little is known about the expression of tenascin-C during human breast involution, nor its relationship to TGFβ. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of tenascin-C throughout lactation, as well as its relationship to TGFβ1 and TGFβ2.
Three milk samples from 25 lactating women (transitional, whole, and wean) were collected, separated into components (cells, fat, and skim), and the skim fraction analyzed for total protein, tenascin-C, TGFβ1, and TGFβ2. Tenascin-C, TGFβ1, and TGFβ2 were detectable in all milk samples.
Highest tenascin-C levels on average were found in whole milk, whereas highest mean TGFβ1 and TGFβ2 levels were in wean milk. Wean samples on average had higher levels of both TGFβ1 (26%) and TGFβ2 (>500%) than matched transitional milk samples. Tenascin-C levels in wean milk were associated with nursing length (p = 0.048). Combining all three milk collection time points, tenascin-C exhibited a weak inverse correlation with TGFβ1 and TGFβ2 (p < 0.1). The inverse correlation at the wean time point was stronger for TGFβ2 than -1 (-0.37 versus -0.25). Tenascin-C, a protein known to promote breast cancer progression, is expressed throughout lactation.
The inverse correlation with TGFβ2 in wean milk suggests a possible interaction during breast involution, which should be further investigated.
产后被诊断为妊娠相关乳腺癌的女性，与其他乳腺癌女性相比，在相同分期下预后更差。乳腺退化的时期具有肿瘤促进作用。在动物模型中，细胞外基质蛋白腱生蛋白-C在退化过程中上调，并促进乳腺癌进展。它与转化生长因子（TGF）β相互作用，TGFβ也参与乳腺退化和乳腺癌进展。关于腱生蛋白-C在人类乳腺退化过程中的表达及其与TGFβ的关系知之甚少。本研究的目的是调查腱生蛋白-C在整个哺乳期的表达情况，以及它与TGFβ1和TGFβ2的关系。
收集25名哺乳期女性的三份乳汁样本（过渡乳、全乳和断奶乳），分离成不同成分（细胞、脂肪和脱脂乳），并对脱脂部分分析总蛋白、腱生蛋白-C、TGFβ1和TGFβ2。在所有乳汁样本中均检测到腱生蛋白-C、TGFβ1和TGFβ2。
全乳中平均腱生蛋白-C水平最高，而平均TGFβ1和TGFβ2水平在断奶乳中最高。与匹配的过渡乳样本相比，断奶样本中TGFβ1（26%）和TGFβ2（>500%）的平均水平更高。断奶乳中腱生蛋白-C水平与哺乳时间相关（p = 0.048）。综合所有三个乳汁采集时间点，腱生蛋白-C与TGFβ1和TGFβ2呈弱负相关（p < 0.1）。在断奶时间点，TGFβ2的负相关比TGFβ1更强（-0.37对-0.25）。腱生蛋白-C是一种已知可促进乳腺癌进展的蛋白，在整个哺乳期均有表达。
断奶乳中与TGFβ2的负相关表明在乳腺退化过程中可能存在相互作用，应进一步研究。
