Urokinase expression in course of benign and malignant mammary lesions: comparison between nodular and healthy tissues.
OBJECTIVE
Increased expression of urokinase (uPA), a member of the serine protease family, is an effector of metastatic cascade and has been reported in various malignancies, including breast cancer. uPA overexpression in cancer tissues was correlated with a more aggressive phenotype and it is considered a strong and independent unfavorable prognostic factor in breast cancer.


METHODS
Using real-time PCR assay, we analyzed uPA expression of malignant and benign breast nodular lesions versus healthy tissues (normal breast and lymphocytes).


RESULTS
We found that besides breast cancer nodule, normal mammary gland and lymphocytes overexpressed uPA too. Tissues obtained from women with benign lesions expressed homogeneous and lower uPA.


CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, although uPA overexpression is typical of cancer tissues, it could be considered as a feature of the whole organism affected by cancer. On the basis of these first results, uPA could be considered for further studies as a possible useful therapeutic target in breast cancer.
Ceccarelli
Francesca
F
UOC Medicina territoriale chirurgica e prevenzione oncologica, Department of Surgery "P. Valdoni", Sapienza University of Rome, C.so Vittorio Emanuele II, 244, 00186 Rome, Italy.
Fuso
Andrea
A
Civitelli
Liana
L
Ranieri
Ersilia
E
Caprio
Giuliana
G
Pagni
Paola
P
Rengo
Mario
M
Scarpa
Sigfrido
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001940:Breast / Q000378:metabolism; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014568:Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator / Q000235:genetics*
D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D014568:Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator