title: A single nucleotide change in the mouse genome accelerates breast cancer progression.
abstract: In the growth factor receptor gene FGFR4 the presence of the common single nucleotide polymorphism Arg388 has been associated with progression of various types of cancer including breast cancer. However, a causative relationship is not readily assigned due to genetic heterogeneity in different patient cohorts. To address this issue, we compared the effects of this allele on malignant progression in the WAP-TGFalpha transgenic mouse model of breast cancer. A knock-in strain was generated to introduce an analogous Arg385 allele into the murine FGFR4 gene. Mouse embryonic fibroblasts derived from this strain displayed accelerated cell transformation, with transformed cells exhibiting greater motility and invasive behavior. In the in vivo context of TGFalpha-induced mammary carcinogenesis, tumor development and progression was significantly advanced in tumor mass, size, and onset of pulmonary metastases. Our findings definitively identify the FGFR4 Arg388 allele as a functional prognostic marker for breast cancer progression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, 85152 Martinsried, Germany.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Seitzer
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mayr
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Streit
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ullrich
mesh_terms: D016475:3T3 Cells; D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000235:genetics; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000235:genetics; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D016678:Genome; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000556:secondary; D008325:Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008894:Milk Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D051499:Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 4 / Q000235:genetics*; D016211:Transforming Growth Factor alpha / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D008894:Milk Proteins; D016211:Transforming Growth Factor alpha; C024471:whey acidic proteins; C496372:Fgfr4 protein, mouse; D051499:Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 4