Open Access

CD44 correlates with clinicopathological characteristics and is upregulated by EGFR in breast cancer

  • Authors:
    • Hanxiao Xu
    • Kongju Wu
    • Yijun Tian
    • Qian Liu
    • Na Han
    • Xun Yuan
    • Lu Zhang
    • Gen Sheng Wu
    • Kongming Wu
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: July 29, 2016     https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2016.3639
  • Pages: 1343-1350
  • Copyright: © Xu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Cluster of differentiation 44 (CD44), a well-known transmembrane glycoprotein, serves as a promoting factor in the carcinogenesis and progression of a variety of neoplasms. Previous studies have demonstrated that aberrant expression of CD44 was associated with the initiation, invasion, metastasis, and therapy-resistance of breast cancer, but whether there was any association between CD44 and pathological characteristics of breast cancer or epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has not been clearly elucidated. In this study, we utilized public microarray data analysis and tissue microarray technologies to display that CD44 level was enhanced in breast cancer and was significantly correlated with histological grade and the status of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) and EGFR. Furthermore, mRNA expression of CD44 in breast tumors was positively correlated with basal cytokeratin markers KRT5 and KRT17, but inversely associated with luminal marker FOXA1. Besides, Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that high CD44 mRNA level had adverse impact on the progression-free survival of patients with HER2-expressing or basal-like breast cancer. Functionally, inhibition of EGFR activity by erlotinib impaired the invasion and migration ability of breast cancer cell lines. Western blot assays demonstrated that erlotinib treatment decreased the expression of CD44, accompanied with the reduced protein levels of mesenchymal and cancer stem cell markers. Collectively, this study suggested that the expression of CD44 was upregulated by EGFR pathway and CD44 had a robust impact on the development of breast cancer.
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October-2016
Volume 49 Issue 4

Print ISSN: 1019-6439
Online ISSN:1791-2423

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Copy and paste a formatted citation
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Spandidos Publications style
Xu H, Wu K, Tian Y, Liu Q, Han N, Yuan X, Zhang L, Wu GS and Wu K: CD44 correlates with clinicopathological characteristics and is upregulated by EGFR in breast cancer. Int J Oncol 49: 1343-1350, 2016
APA
Xu, H., Wu, K., Tian, Y., Liu, Q., Han, N., Yuan, X. ... Wu, K. (2016). CD44 correlates with clinicopathological characteristics and is upregulated by EGFR in breast cancer. International Journal of Oncology, 49, 1343-1350. https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2016.3639
MLA
Xu, H., Wu, K., Tian, Y., Liu, Q., Han, N., Yuan, X., Zhang, L., Wu, G. S., Wu, K."CD44 correlates with clinicopathological characteristics and is upregulated by EGFR in breast cancer". International Journal of Oncology 49.4 (2016): 1343-1350.
Chicago
Xu, H., Wu, K., Tian, Y., Liu, Q., Han, N., Yuan, X., Zhang, L., Wu, G. S., Wu, K."CD44 correlates with clinicopathological characteristics and is upregulated by EGFR in breast cancer". International Journal of Oncology 49, no. 4 (2016): 1343-1350. https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2016.3639