Liang Xi, Wang Shujun, Wang Xueju, Zhang Lijuan, Zhao Haidong, Zhang Le
Department of Breast Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning 116023, P.R. China.
Department of Breast Surgery, China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130033, P.R. China.
Exp Ther Med. 2018 Aug;16(2):767-771. doi: 10.3892/etm.2018.6212. Epub 2018 May 23.
The present study aimed to investigate the role of leptin in the growth of breast cancer. In the present study, expression of leptin in tumor tissues and adjacent tissues was detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Serum leptin in patients with breast cancer and normal healthy controls was detected by ELISA. Different concentrations of leptin were used to treat breast cancer cells, and cell proliferation was detected by cell proliferation assay. Interactions between leptin and Wnt/β-catenin were evaluated by western blotting. It was demonstrated that expression of leptin mRNA was significantly higher in tumor tissues than in adjacent tissues in 43 out of 48 patients. Serum level of leptin was significantly higher in patients with breast cancer than in normal controls. Leptin promoted the proliferation of breast cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. Leptin significantly increased the expression level of β-catenin in breast cancer cells. Treatment with Wnt inhibitor reduced the enhancing effects of leptin on proliferation of breast cancer cells. The results of the present study therefore indicate that leptin may promote the growth of breast cancer by upregulating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.
本研究旨在探讨瘦素在乳腺癌生长中的作用。在本研究中，通过逆转录-定量聚合酶链反应检测肿瘤组织和邻近组织中瘦素的表达。采用酶联免疫吸附测定法检测乳腺癌患者和正常健康对照者的血清瘦素。用不同浓度的瘦素处理乳腺癌细胞，并通过细胞增殖试验检测细胞增殖情况。通过蛋白质印迹法评估瘦素与Wnt/β-连环蛋白之间的相互作用。结果显示，48例患者中有43例肿瘤组织中瘦素mRNA的表达显著高于邻近组织。乳腺癌患者的血清瘦素水平显著高于正常对照者。瘦素以剂量依赖性方式促进乳腺癌细胞的增殖。瘦素显著增加乳腺癌细胞中β-连环蛋白 的表达水平。用Wnt抑制剂处理可降低瘦素对乳腺癌细胞增殖的增强作用。因此，本研究结果表明，瘦素可能通过上调Wnt/β-连环蛋白信号通路促进乳腺癌的生长。
