Characterization of Molecular Factors Critical to the S100A4 (A Metastasis-Associated Protein)-Dependent Increase in Motility of Breast Cancer Cells

摘要

The S100A4 protein is a small calcium binding protein that has been implicated in the metastatic progression of multiple tumor types. In particular, recent clinical studies of breast cancer patients have shown that increased expression of the protein tightly correlates with a poor patient prognosis. Although there is a strong correlation linking S100A4 and breast cancer progression, how affects a phenotypic change remains poorly understood. By focusing on the cellular context in which S100A4 functions, we aim to investigate whether S100A4 is involved in ErbB2 induced disruption of epithelial acini-like structures. ErbB2 is a receptor tyrosine kinase that is overexpressed in 25-30% of all breast cancers. Understanding whether SlOOA4 cooperates with ErbB2 will provide insight into the observation that overexpression of S100A4 correlates with metastatic disease.