Open Access

Leptin is overexpressed in the tumor microenvironment of obese patients with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer

  • Authors:
    • Mohamed Hosney
    • Salwa Sabet
    • Mohamed El‑Shinawi
    • Khadiga M. Gaafar
    • Mona M. Mohamed
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: March 30, 2017     https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2017.4291
  • Pages: 2235-2246
  • Copyright: © Hosney 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 potential role of leptin in the progression of breast cancer and the associated cell proliferation signalling pathway(s). A total of 44 female patients diagnosed with breast cancer and 24 healthy donors from Ain Shams University Hospitals (Cairo, Egypt) were enrolled in the present study. The present study assessed leptin expression in breast cancer tissues at the gene and protein level using reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‑qPCR) and immunohistochemistry. The results demonstrate that the expression of leptin was significantly higher in tissue of breast cancer samples from obese patients than overweight and control samples (P<0.001). ELISA results indicated a significant increase (P<0.001) of leptin expression in obese patients. To investigate whether there is any difference in leptin expression between the peripheral and tumor microenvironment blood of patients with breast cancer, the concentration of leptin was assessed in plasma from both using ELISA assays. The results demonstrated a statistically significant increase in the level of leptin in plasma samples from the tumor microenvironment of obese patients with estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer, compared with peripheral plasma samples. Furthermore, the leptin gene was overexpressed in obese ER+ breast cancer tissue. RT‑qPCR was also performed to assess the expression of genes involved in proliferation pathways including leptin receptor (LEPR), aromatase, mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) and signal transducer and activator of transcription‑3 (STAT3). A positive association between leptin expression, LEPR, aromatase, MAPK and STAT3 was detected in tissue samples of patients with breast cancer. The current study concluded that leptin may enhance breast cancer progression by inducing the expression of JAK/STAT3, ERK1/2 and estrogen pathways in obese patients breast cancer.
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May-2017
Volume 13 Issue 5

Print ISSN: 1792-0981
Online ISSN:1792-1015

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Spandidos Publications style
Hosney M, Sabet S, El‑Shinawi M, Gaafar KM and Mohamed MM: Leptin is overexpressed in the tumor microenvironment of obese patients with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer. Exp Ther Med 13: 2235-2246, 2017
APA
Hosney, M., Sabet, S., El‑Shinawi, M., Gaafar, K.M., & Mohamed, M.M. (2017). Leptin is overexpressed in the tumor microenvironment of obese patients with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 13, 2235-2246. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2017.4291
MLA
Hosney, M., Sabet, S., El‑Shinawi, M., Gaafar, K. M., Mohamed, M. M."Leptin is overexpressed in the tumor microenvironment of obese patients with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 13.5 (2017): 2235-2246.
Chicago
Hosney, M., Sabet, S., El‑Shinawi, M., Gaafar, K. M., Mohamed, M. M."Leptin is overexpressed in the tumor microenvironment of obese patients with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 13, no. 5 (2017): 2235-2246. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2017.4291