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Ruoff F, Kersten N, Anderle N, Jerbi S, Stahl A, Koch A, Staebler A, Hartkopf A, Brucker SY, Hahn M, Schenke-Layland K, Schmees C, Templin MF. Protein Profiling of Breast Carcinomas Reveals Expression of Immune-Suppressive Factors and Signatures Relevant for Patient Outcome. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14184542. [PMID: 36139700 PMCID: PMC9496820 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14184542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In cancer, the complex interplay between tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment results in the modulation of signaling processes. By assessing the expression of a multitude of proteins and protein variants in cancer tissue, wide-ranging information on signaling pathway activation and the status of the immunological landscape is obtainable and may provide viable information on the treatment response. Archived breast cancer tissues from a cohort of 84 patients (no adjuvant therapy) were analyzed by high-throughput Western blotting, and the expression of 150 proteins covering central cancer pathways and immune cell markers was examined. By assessing CD8α, CD11c, CD16 and CD68 expression, immune cell infiltration was determined and revealed a strong correlation between event-free patient survival and the infiltration of immune cells. The presence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes was linked to the pronounced activation of the Jak/Stat signaling pathway and apoptotic processes. The elevated phosphorylation of PPARγ (pS112) in non-immune-infiltrated tumors suggests a novel immune evasion mechanism in breast cancer characterized by increased PPARγ phosphorylation. Multiplexed immune cell marker assessment and the protein profiling of tumor tissue provide functional signaling data facilitating breast cancer patient stratification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Ruoff
- NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute at the University of Tuebingen, 72770 Reutlingen, Germany
| | - Nicolas Kersten
- FZI Research Center for Information Technology, Intelligent Systems and Production Engineering (ISPE), 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
- Interfaculty Institute for Biomedical Informatics (IBMI), University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Nicole Anderle
- NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute at the University of Tuebingen, 72770 Reutlingen, Germany
| | - Sandra Jerbi
- NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute at the University of Tuebingen, 72770 Reutlingen, Germany
| | - Aaron Stahl
- NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute at the University of Tuebingen, 72770 Reutlingen, Germany
| | - André Koch
- Department of Women’s Health, University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Annette Staebler
- Institute of Pathology and Neuropathology, University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Andreas Hartkopf
- Department of Women’s Health, University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
- Department of Women’s Health, University of Ulm, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - Sara Y. Brucker
- Department of Women’s Health, University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Markus Hahn
- Department of Women’s Health, University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Katja Schenke-Layland
- NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute at the University of Tuebingen, 72770 Reutlingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Department for Medical Technologies and Regenerative Medicine, University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Christian Schmees
- NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute at the University of Tuebingen, 72770 Reutlingen, Germany
| | - Markus F. Templin
- NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute at the University of Tuebingen, 72770 Reutlingen, Germany
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-7121-51530-828
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