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Aurora-A gene is frequently amplified in basal-like breast cancer

Synnöve Staff1, Jorma Isola, Mervi Jumppanen

  • 1Institute of Medical Technology, University and University Hospital of Tampere, Tampere, Finland. synnove.staff@uta.fi

Oncology Reports
|January 1, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Aurora-A kinase (AURKA) gene amplification is common in breast cancer, particularly in basal-like tumors. This finding suggests patients with AURKA amplification may benefit from targeted Aurora-A inhibitor therapies.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Aurora-A kinase (AURKA) plays a critical role in mitosis.
  • AURKA is a potential therapeutic target for cancer treatment.
  • Understanding AURKA gene alterations in breast cancer is crucial for targeted therapy development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the clinicopathological associations of AURKA gene amplification in clinical breast tumors.
  • To correlate AURKA gene copy number with its mRNA and protein expression in breast cancer cell lines.
  • To identify potential in vitro models for evaluating Aurora-A inhibitors.

Main Methods:

  • Chromogenic in situ hybridisation (CISH) was used to examine AURKA gene amplification in 126 clinical breast tumors.
  • Immunohistochemistry was employed to assess Aurora-A protein expression.
  • Gene amplification, mRNA, and protein expression levels were analyzed in breast cancer cell lines.

Main Results:

  • AURKA amplification was detected in 21% of breast tumors and associated with a basal-like phenotype (p=0.046).
  • AURKA amplification correlated significantly with increased Aurora-A protein expression (p<0.0001).
  • In cell lines, gene amplification strongly associated with high mRNA expression (p<0.0001), with JIMT-1 identified as a suitable model.

Conclusions:

  • AURKA gene amplification is a frequent genetic alteration in breast cancer, especially in basal-like subtypes.
  • Patients with AURKA-amplified basal-like breast tumors may be candidates for Aurora-A inhibitor therapy.
  • The JIMT-1 cell line serves as a valuable in vitro model for preclinical studies of Aurora-A inhibitors.

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