Identification of a mechanism that can inhibit the growth of breast cancer –

About 10% of all women develop breast cancer at some point in their lives, and some forms are more difficult to treat.

Currently, there are fewer treatment options for so-called ER-negative breast cancer, which means that the estrogen receptor (ER) is not available and therefore the disease does not respond to hormone therapy.

So-called triple-negative breast cancer is difficult to treat. So, not only the ER is missing but also the progesterone and HER2 receptors (a protein on the surface of cells, editorial comment).

There is a great need to identify new molecular mechanisms regulating the growth of ER-negative breast cancer, as these mechanisms may constitute new therapeutic targets, says Professor Per Olin at Karolinska Institutet.

The protein regulates the signal

Led a study that identified a new protective mechanism in ER-negative breast cancer. The results showed that the common protein GIT1 regulates the so-called Notch signaling in breast cancer cells, which in turn affects the initiation and growth of breast tumors.

Examination of tumor cells from breast cancer patients showed that high levels of the GIT1 protein suppress Notch signaling and protect against tumor growth. On the other hand, lower levels of GIT1 led to increased tumor growth.

The study showed that the patients’ negative breast tumors had lower levels of GIT1 than the ER-positive breast tumors. The results also demonstrated that elevated levels of GIT1 in ER-negative breast tumors could be linked to improved prognosis in patients.

connected to prediction

Notch signaling is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism that has been shown to regulate cell fate in most organs of the body and at various stages during cell development.

Hyperactive signals in breast cancer patients have been linked to a worse prognosis.

Our results provide important information about a mechanism that controls the initiation and growth of breast tumors. We hope these findings will contribute to the development of new treatments for patients with hard-to-treat breast cancer, says Per Olin.

Scientific material:

GIT1 protects against breast cancer growth through negative regulation of Notch[/language]Nature Communications.

call:

Per Olin, Professor in the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, [email protected]