TY - JOUR
T1 - Serum and tissue expression of activin A in postmenopausal women with breast cancer
AU - Reis, Fernando M.
AU - Cobellis, Luigi
AU - Tameirão, Lilian C.
AU - Anania, Gabriele
AU - Luisi, Stefano
AU - Silva, Ilma S B
AU - Gioffrè, Walter
AU - Di Blasio, Anna M.
AU - Petraglia, Felice
PY - 2002
Y1 - 2002
N2 - Activins are growth factors involved in the control of cell proliferation and differentiation. Human breast tissues express immunoreactive activin subunits, and activin A is able to inhibit the replication of mammary cells in vitro. The aim of the present study was to evaluate 1) whether breast cancer expresses activin βA subunit mRNA, 2) whether serum activin A levels are altered in postmenopausal women with breast cancer, and 3) how circulating activin A levels change after tumor removal. Four groups of women (n = 158) were enrolled for the present prospective study: two groups were composed of postmenopausal women with breast cancer (n = 74) or benign lesions (n = 15); the third was a control group composed of healthy postmenopausal women (n = 62); and the fourth group included healthy fertile women (n = 7) undergoing plastic surgery with removal of non-neoplastic mammary tissue. RT-PCR showed that βA subunit mRNA was expressed in breast carcinoma, fibroadenoma, and normal mammary tissue, and the level of expression was higher in carcinoma than in normal tissue (P <0.05). Dimeric activin A was detectable in homogenates of breast cancer tissue at concentrations twice as high as in non-neoplastic tissue (P <0.01). In women with breast cancer, median serum activin A levels were significantly higher than in controls (P <0.001). The high serum activin A levels in patients with breast cancer were not correlated with the presence of lymph node metastasis, tumor grade, or tumor diameter. After tumor excision, a significant decrease of activin A in the first and second postoperative days was observed (P <0.01; Friedman's ANOVA). Conversely, activin A levels remained unchanged after plastic surgery in healthy women. The present results suggest that activin A is expressed and secreted in postmenopausal women with breast cancer. The pathophysiological and possible clinical implications of this finding remain to be investigated.
AB - Activins are growth factors involved in the control of cell proliferation and differentiation. Human breast tissues express immunoreactive activin subunits, and activin A is able to inhibit the replication of mammary cells in vitro. The aim of the present study was to evaluate 1) whether breast cancer expresses activin βA subunit mRNA, 2) whether serum activin A levels are altered in postmenopausal women with breast cancer, and 3) how circulating activin A levels change after tumor removal. Four groups of women (n = 158) were enrolled for the present prospective study: two groups were composed of postmenopausal women with breast cancer (n = 74) or benign lesions (n = 15); the third was a control group composed of healthy postmenopausal women (n = 62); and the fourth group included healthy fertile women (n = 7) undergoing plastic surgery with removal of non-neoplastic mammary tissue. RT-PCR showed that βA subunit mRNA was expressed in breast carcinoma, fibroadenoma, and normal mammary tissue, and the level of expression was higher in carcinoma than in normal tissue (P <0.05). Dimeric activin A was detectable in homogenates of breast cancer tissue at concentrations twice as high as in non-neoplastic tissue (P <0.01). In women with breast cancer, median serum activin A levels were significantly higher than in controls (P <0.001). The high serum activin A levels in patients with breast cancer were not correlated with the presence of lymph node metastasis, tumor grade, or tumor diameter. After tumor excision, a significant decrease of activin A in the first and second postoperative days was observed (P <0.01; Friedman's ANOVA). Conversely, activin A levels remained unchanged after plastic surgery in healthy women. The present results suggest that activin A is expressed and secreted in postmenopausal women with breast cancer. The pathophysiological and possible clinical implications of this finding remain to be investigated.
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U2 - 10.1210/jc.87.5.2277
DO - 10.1210/jc.87.5.2277
M3 - Article
C2 - 11994376
AN - SCOPUS:0036095708
VL - 87
SP - 2277
EP - 2282
JO - Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
JF - Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
SN - 0021-972X
IS - 5
ER -