title: Astrocyte elevated gene-1 induces breast cancer proliferation and invasion through upregulating HER2/neu expression.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1), primarily identified as a late response gene induced by HIV-1 infection, plays multiple roles in the process of oncogenesis. This novel gene has been demonstrated to be involved in the several potent carcinogenic pathways, including PI3K/Akt pathway, nuclear factor (NF)-κB pathway, and Wnt/κ-catenin pathway. Although the function of AEG-1 has been intensively investigated in recent years, the molecular mechanism underlying its oncogenic role is largely unknown. The aim of this research was to explore the potential function of AEG-1 in breast cancer development and progression.
  
  
  METHODS
  AEG-1 was ectopically overexpressed in breast cancer MCF-7 cells and its biological effects on the proliferation and invasion of MCF-7 cells were studied by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and invasion assays. The expression of HER2/neu, a crucial oncogene involving in breast cancer carcinogenesis, was also determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overexpression of the AEG-1 promoted the proliferation and invasion ability of breast cancer cells, and upregulated the expression of HER2/neu, a crucial oncogene involving in breast cancer carcinogenesis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  AEG-1 might facilitate the proliferation and invasion of breast cancer cells by upregulating HER2/neu expression, which provides a potential target for breast cancer therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemotherapy, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University School of Medicine, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China. xinzhang_chemo@163.com
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Mei-Xin
authors.initials: MX
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D015153:Blotting, Western; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000235:genetics; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; C483039:MTDH protein, human