Notch signaling in human breast cancer

Objective To explore the role of Notch signaling in human breast cancers, the expression of Notchl and its ligand JAG1 in human breast cancers and their relationships with clinical stages of breast cancers were analyzed. Methods RT-PCR was used to detect the expression of Notchl and JAG1 in 62 breast cancer specimens and 22 normal breast tissues at the margin of tumor sections, and the statistical difference of expression rates and standardized coefficient between the two groups were analyzed. To compare the expression intensity of Notchl and JAG1 at different development stages of the illness and at different stages with or without axillary node metastasis. Results The expression rate and standardized coefficient of Notchl in human breast cancers were significantly higher than those of normal breast tissues at the margin of tumor sections. The expression rate of JAG1 in human breast cancers was 15% , while JAG1 was not detected in normal breast tissues at the margin of tumor sections. The standardized coefficient of Notchl in cases with axillary node metastasis was significantly higher than that in cases without axillary node metastasis. The standardized coefficient of Notchl at stageⅠwas significantly lower than that at stageⅡ, and stageⅡwas significantly higher than stageⅢ. There was no statistically significant difference between stageⅠand stageⅢ. Conclusion Notchl and JAG1 are highly expressed in human breast cancers, indicating that the aberrant expression and activation of Notchl may be related with tumorigenesis of human breast cancer. Notchl may play different roles at different developmentl stages of human breast cancer.