Quantitative CK19 biomarker detection in breast cancer cell lines

Cytokeratin19 (CK19) was detected as the most related marker for circulating tumor cells, which was assessed in specific cell lines. MCF7, SKBR3, T47D, and MDA-MB-231, and HeLa cell line as negative control were used. CK19 expression was confirmed by using mouse monoclonal anti-human CK19 antibody. CK19 detection in MDA-MB-231 was not observed. CK19 marker expression was compared in T47D, MCF7, and SKBR3 cell lines. T47D and MCF7 belonged to the luminal subtype of breast cancer (BC) that CK19 expression regulated with an ER marker. SKBR3 belonged to the HER2 positive subtype of BC. However, MDA-MB-231 belonged to the claudin-low subtype of BC that lack of CK19 expression strongly is related to negative ER, PR, and HER2. Therefore, there are not only quantitative differences in CK19 expression, but its expression could also link to the other markers of BC that should be considered in the molecular classification of breast carcinoma. Different expression levels related to cell classification could be useful in the prognosis and treatment of cancers with epithelial origins.