Patterns of cell cycle checkpoint deregulation associated with intrinsic molecular subtypes of human breast cancer cells

Abstract

Cell cycle: Breast cancer subtypes exhibit distinct checkpoint dysfunctions Unique subtypes of breast cancer display distinctive patterns of genomic instability that affect cell division. Jacquelyn J. Bower and colleagues at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA, assessed the molecular function of several G2-M cell cycle checkpoints—which ensure that cells don’t begin mitotic cell division until DNA replication is complete and they have had a chance to repair any damaged DNA—in 24 breast cancer and mammary epithelial cell lines that collectively represent four of the six intrinsic molecular subtypes of breast cancer. The distinct patterns of cell cycle checkpoint deregulation that the researchers found suggest that pharmacological targeting of the dysfunction in each type of breast cancer could lead to personalized treatment strategies. The findings also point to diagnostic biomarkers that could help predict patient responses to novel drugs or existing chemotherapies.