The Expression Of AGR2 Protein In Breast Cancer Tissues

Objective: The breast cancer markers which reflects the tumor's biological characteristics and are significant for guiding the treatment and prognostic diagnosis attracts much attention of clinicians. Some scholars have found a new protein AGR2 (human anterior gradient-2, that is, HAG-2 or Gob-4). They found that the AGR2 and the estrogenic receptor (ERα) both exist in the breast cancer cells, which implies that the AGR2 is involved in the biological processes of the hormone breast cancer's tumor. In order to further understand the relationship between the AGR2 protein and the breast cancer, we used immunohistochemistry and Western blot to detect and analyze the expression and its significance of AGR2 protein in human breast cancer tissues and benign breast lesions . We wish it can bring help to the breast cancer treatment and prognostic diagnosis.Methods (1)Collecting 55 cases of breast cancer patients and 18 cases of benign breast diseases from May 2005 to December 2006 in The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University. All the specimens are fixed with 4% formalin, embedded with paraffin and done with ordinary HE staining. Using the method of Immune organization chemistry (Immune organization chemistry ,IHC) to detect the AGR2 expression in the breast cancer and benign breast lesions, observing the differences of the AGR2 expressions in different breast cancers and benign breast lesions and analyzing the relativity of the AGR2 protein expression with the breast cancer pathological factors and the ERα.(2) Collecting 15 cases of fresh tumor specimens from The Department of General Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University as the experimental group, and selecting 10 fresh specimens of the benign breast lesions as the normal comparing group; All organizations have been frozen section (HE staining ) confirmed. The method of western blotting was applied to detect the AGR2 protein expression in fresh breast cancer specimens and benign breast lesions.Results :(1) The immunohistochemical results showed that the highest percentage of the AGR2 protein in breast cancer was 80.0% and the lowest percentage in benign breast lesions was 33.3%. The positive rate of the AGR2 protein expression in ERαpositive breast cancer was 81.1% while 55.6% in Era negative group. If there are differences, it has statistical significance (P <0.05), which shows it has no relations with the patient's age, tumor diameter, pathological type,lymph metastasis and histological grade; If there are no differences, there is no statistical significance (P> 0.05). (2) Western blotting detection showed that AGR2 protein expression was significantly increased in breast cancers compared to that of benign breast lesions.Conclusion: The AGR2 protein expression in breast cancer closely related to the ERαexpression and may play a role in the occurrence of breast cancer, is a potential value of molecular markers of breast cancer. But whether it can be used as a marker of breast cancer invasion and metastasis and prognosis of patients, and its breast cancer specific mechanisms, also need further study.