Overexpression of the anti-adhesin podocalyxin is an independent predictor of breast cancer progression.

Abstract

Podocalyxin is a CD34-related cell surface molecule with anti-adhesive qualities. We probed a tissue microarray (n = 272) linked to long-term outcome data and found that podocalyxin was highly overexpressed in a distinct subset of invasive breast carcinomas (n = 15; 6%). Univariate disease-specific (P < 0.01) and multivariate regression (P < 0.0005) analyses indicated that this overexpression is an independent indicator of poor outcome. Forced podocalyxin expression perturbed cell junctions between MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells, and it caused cell shedding from confluent monolayers. Therefore, podocalyxin overexpression is a novel predictor of breast cancer progression that may contribute to the process by perturbing tumor cell adhesion.

• Authors: Aruna Somasiri, Julie S Nielsen, Nikita Makretsov, Marcia L McCoy, Leah Prentice, C Blake Gilks, Stephen K Chia, Karen A Gelmon, David B Kershaw, David G Huntsman, Kelly M McNagny, Calvin D Roskelley
• Journal: Cancer research (Cancer Res) Vol. 64 Issue 15 Pg. 5068-73 (Aug 01 2004) ISSN: 0008-5472 [Print] United States
• PMID: 15289306 (Publication Type: Comparative Study, Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Biomarkers, Tumor
• Sialoglycoproteins
• podocalyxin

Topics

• Biomarkers, Tumor (metabolism)
• Breast Neoplasms (metabolism, pathology)
• Cell Adhesion
• Disease Progression
• Female
• Humans
• Immunoenzyme Techniques
• Intercellular Junctions (metabolism, pathology)
• Lymphatic Metastasis
• Prognosis
• Sialoglycoproteins (metabolism)
• Tumor Cells, Cultured