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Published on: March 30, 2019
TRIM39 is a poor prognostic factor for patients with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer and promotes cell cycle
Takuya Ogura1,2,3, Kotaro Azuma1, Toshihiko Takeiwa1
1Department of Systems Aging Science and Medicine, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
Tripartite motif (TRIM) family proteins are involved in various biological processes and the pathophysiology of cancers. However, the roles of TRIM39, a TRIM family member, in breast cancer is not well-understood. Here, we performed immunohistochemical study of TRIM39 protein in clinical estrogen receptor-positive (ER+ ) breast cancer tissues from 108 patients. TRIM39 immunoreactivity (IR) was positively correlated with advanced stage (p < 0.001), large invasive tumor size (p = 0.012), and positive lymph node status (p = 0.002). Positive TRIM39 IR was significantly correlated with short disease-free survival (DFS) (p = 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that the TRIM39 status is an independent prognostic factor in DFS (p = 0.049). Microarray analysis of MCF-7 breast cancer cells treated with siRNA revealed that TRIM39 knockdown downregulated the cell cycle- and cell division-related genes, including MLLT11, CDCA3, CDC25C, BIRC5, and ANP32E. Consistently, TRIM39 knockdown significantly suppressed proliferation and cell cycle transition to S phase in MCF-7 and 4-hydroxytamoxifen-resistant (OHTR) breast cancer cells. These results suggest that TRIM39 promotes ER+ breast cancer growth by promoting cell cycle progression.
Tripartite motif (TRIM) family proteins are involved in various biological processes and the pathophysiology of cancers. However, the roles of TRIM39, a TRIM family member, in breast cancer is not well-understood. Here, we performed immunohistochemical study of TRIM39 protein in clinical estrogen receptor-positive (ER+ ) breast cancer tissues from 108 patients. TRIM39 immunoreactivity (IR) was positively correlated with advanced stage (p < 0.001), large invasive tumor size (p = 0.012), and positive lymph node status (p = 0.002). Positive TRIM39 IR was significantly correlated with short disease-free survival (DFS) (p = 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that the TRIM39 status is an independent prognostic factor in DFS (p = 0.049). Microarray analysis of MCF-7 breast cancer cells treated with siRNA revealed that TRIM39 knockdown downregulated the cell cycle- and cell division-related genes, including MLLT11, CDCA3, CDC25C, BIRC5, and ANP32E. Consistently, TRIM39 knockdown significantly suppressed proliferation and cell cycle transition to S phase in MCF-7 and 4-hydroxytamoxifen-resistant (OHTR) breast cancer cells. These results suggest that TRIM39 promotes ER+ breast cancer growth by promoting cell cycle progression.
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