An epithelial to mesenchymal transition programme does not usually drive the phenotype of invasive lobular carcinomas.
Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a cellular phenotype switching phenomenon which occurs during normal development and is proposed to promote tumour cell invasive capabilities during tumour progression. Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) is a histological special type of breast cancer with a peculiar aetiology - the tumour cells display an invasive growth pattern, with detached, single cells or single files of cells, and a canonical feature is the loss of E-cadherin expression. These characteristics are indicative of an EMT or at the very least that they represent some plasticity between phenotypes. While some gene expression profiling data support this view, the tumour cells remain epithelial and limited immunohistochemistry data suggest that EMT markers may not feature prominently in ILC. We assessed the expression of a panel of EMT markers (fibronectin, vimentin, N-cadherin, smooth muscle actin, osteonectin, Snail, Twist) in 148 ILCs and performed a meta-analysis of publically available molecular data from 154 ILCs. Three out of 148 (2%) ILCs demonstrated an early and coordinated alteration of multiple EMT markers (down-regulation of E-cadherin, nuclear TWIST, and up-regulation of vimentin, osteonectin, and smooth muscle actin). However, the data overall do not support a role for EMT in defining the phenotypic peculiarities of the majority of ILCs. Copyright © 2015 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The University of Queensland, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, Herston, 4029, QLD, Australia.
Amy E
AE
McCart Reed
The University of Queensland, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, Herston, 4029, QLD, Australia.
Jamie R
JR
Kutasovic
The University of Queensland, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, Herston, 4029, QLD, Australia.
Ana C
AC
Vargas
The University of Queensland, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, Herston, 4029, QLD, Australia.
Janani
J
Jayanthan
The University of Queensland, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, Herston, 4029, QLD, Australia.
Amel
A
Al-Murrani
The University of Queensland, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, Herston, 4029, QLD, Australia.
Lynne E
LE
Reid
The University of Queensland, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, Herston, 4029, QLD, Australia.|Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology, Taringa, 4068, QLD, Australia.
Rachael
R
Chambers
The University of Queensland, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, Herston, 4029, QLD, Australia.
Leonard
L
Da Silva
The University of Queensland, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, Herston, 4029, QLD, Australia.|Pathology Queensland, The Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital, Herston, 4029, QLD, Australia.
Lewis
L
Melville
Wesley Breast Clinic, Wesley Hospital, Auchenflower, 4066, QLD, Australia.
Elizabeth
E
Evans
Wesley Breast Clinic, Wesley Hospital, Auchenflower, 4066, QLD, Australia.
Alan
A
Porter
Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology, Taringa, 4068, QLD, Australia.
David
D
Papadimos
Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation and School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, 4059, QLD, Australia.|University of Melbourne, Department of Surgery, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, 3065, VIC, Australia.
Erik W
EW
Thompson
The University of Queensland, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, Herston, 4029, QLD, Australia.|Pathology Queensland, The Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital, Herston, 4029, QLD, Australia.|The University of Queensland, School of Medicine, Herston, 4006, QLD, Australia.
Sunil R
SR
Lakhani
The University of Queensland, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, Herston, 4029, QLD, Australia.|The University of Queensland, School of Medicine, Herston, 4006, QLD, Australia.
Peter T
PT
Simpson
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D015820:Cadherins / Q000378:metabolism; D018275:Carcinoma, Lobular / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D010641:Phenotype; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D015820:Cadherins; D014157:Transcription Factors
E-cadherin; breast cancer; epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT); invasive lobular carcinoma