Apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 is associated with the effect of claudin-6 in breast cancer

Abstract

Abstract Background Previous studies have demonstrated that claudin-6 functions as a cancer suppressor in human MCF-7 breast cancer cells. The growth inhibitory effect could be attributed to inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis. The purpose of the current study was to examine the involvement of apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) in the anticancer effect of claudin-6. Methods Immunohistochemical analysis was performed to evaluate the ASK1 protein expression and the correlation between ASK1, claudin-6 and clinicopathological features in 85 samples of breast invasive ductal carcinomas (IDC). Western blotting and RT-PCR was carried out to examine the expression of ASK1 and claudin-6 in MCF-7 cell clones transfected with claudin-6. Results Immunohistochemical analysis showed that ASK1 expression was significantly related with that of claudin-6 in breast invasive ductal carcinomas (P P Conclusions Our data suggests, for the first time, that the ASK1 signal may play a positive role in the inhibitory effect of claudin-6 in breast cancer. Virtual Slides The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1200314318763661

Keywords

• Breast invasive ductal carcinomas
• ASK1
• Apoptosis
• Tight junction