Leptin promotes the growth of breast cancer by upregulating the Wnt/β‑catenin pathway

Liang,Xi; Wang,Shujun; Wang,Xueju; Zhang,Lijuan; Zhao,Haidong; Zhang,Le

doi:10.3892/etm.2018.6212

Leptin promotes the growth of breast cancer by upregulating the Wnt/β‑catenin pathway

Authors:
- Xi Liang
- Shujun Wang
- Xueju Wang
- Lijuan Zhang
- Haidong Zhao
- Le Zhang
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Affiliations: Department of Breast Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning 116023, P.R. China, Department of Breast Surgery, China‑Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130033, P.R. China
Published online on: May 23, 2018 https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2018.6212
Pages: 767-771
Copyright: © Liang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the role of leptin in the growth of breast cancer. In the present study, expression of leptin in tumor tissues and adjacent tissues was detected by reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Serum leptin in patients with breast cancer and normal healthy controls was detected by ELISA. Different concentrations of leptin were used to treat breast cancer cells, and cell proliferation was detected by cell proliferation assay. Interactions between leptin and Wnt/β‑catenin were evaluated by western blotting. It was demonstrated that expression of leptin mRNA was significantly higher in tumor tissues than in adjacent tissues in 43 out of 48 patients. Serum level of leptin was significantly higher in patients with breast cancer than in normal controls. Leptin promoted the proliferation of breast cancer cells in a dose‑dependent manner. Leptin significantly increased the expression level of β‑catenin in breast cancer cells. Treatment with Wnt inhibitor reduced the enhancing effects of leptin on proliferation of breast cancer cells. The results of the present study therefore indicate that leptin may promote the growth of breast cancer by upregulating the Wnt/β‑catenin pathway.

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