The Impact of Angio-Associated Migratory Cell Protein (AAMP) on Breast Cancer Cells in Vitro and Its Clinical Significance
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ANTICANCER RESEARCH 33: 1499-1510 (2013) The Impact of Angio-associated Migratory Cell Protein (AAMP) on Breast Cancer Cells In Vitro and Its Clinical Significance YUKUN YIN1,2, ANDREW J. SANDERS1 and WEN G. JIANG1 1Metastasis and Angiogenesis Research Group, Institute of Cancer and Genetics, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Heath Park, Cardiff, U.K.; 2Department of Surgery, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong Province, P.R. China Abstract. Background/Aim: Angio-associated migratory cell of patients with high levels (p<0.05). Conclusion: AAMP has protein (AAMP), which belongs to the immunoglobulin a significant influence on the biological functions of breast superfamily, was found to be expressed in different human cell cancer cells and its high expression correlates with poor lines and exhibited a predominant cytosolic localization in prognosis and metastasis. epithelial cells. Previous studies show that the specific gene product is functional in cell migration and angiogenesis and Angio-associated migratory cell protein (AAMP), a 52-kDa can also be used as a marker of poor prognosis in invasive protein initially isolated from a human melanoma cell line gastrointestinal stromal tumours and ductal carcinoma in situ during a search for motility-associated cell surface proteins (DCIS) of the breast. However, the cellular role of AAMP in (1), is extensively expressed in different types of endothelial breast cancer is still unclear. The aim of the current study was cells and aortic smooth-muscle cells (human and bovine), to provide new insights into the implication of AAMP in human melanoma cells, activated T-lymphocytes, renal breast cancer. Materials and Methods: We knocked-down the proximal tubular cells, prostate and breast carcinoma cells, expression of AAMP through transfection of MCF-7 and dermal fibroblasts, glomerular mesangial cells, benign MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells with a hammerhead mammary cells, and rat myocytes (1-7). The expression of ribozyme transgene (MCF-7AAMPrib and MDA-MB- AAMP was found to be increased in invasive gastrointestinal 231AAMPrib) and examined the impact on cell function using stromal tumours (8) and in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in vitro assays. Additionally, AAMP expression was examined of the breast with necrosis, where it is considered to be a in a cohort of breast specimens (normal, n=28; cancer, marker of poor prognosis (9). n=102) using quantitative-real-time polymerase chain The AAMP protein contains two immunoglobulin-like reaction (Q-PCR) and immunohistochemical methods. domains, the WD40 repeat motif, and a heparin-binding Results: AAMP knock-down dramatically reduced cell consensus sequence (1). The immunoglobulin superfamily adhesion and cell growth of MCF-7 cells (p<0.05), and relatives include proteins that either are known or are suppressed cell invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells (p<0.05). suspected to play a role in cell adhesion (8, 10, 11). Some Increased expression of AAMP in breast cancer was observed immunoglobulin superfamily members are multifunctional compared with that in normal tissues (p<0.05). High levels and participate in both cell binding and signalling (8, 12). of AAMP transcripts were associated with disease The WD40 repeat motif found in β-transducin and other progression, metastasis, and poor prognosis of the patients. proteins is speculated to represent a general protein-protein Disease-free and overall survival time of patients with lower recognition/binding site (13). The AAMP-derived peptide, levels of AAMP were significantly longer compared to those P189, contains a heparin-binding domain and mediates heparin-sensitive cell adhesion (1, 2, 14). A previous study identified a direct interaction of AAMP with nucleotide- binding oligomerization domain containing-2 (NOD2), but Correspondence to: Professor Wen G. Jiang, Institute of Cancer and declared that Ig domains in AAMP could not be confirmed Genetics, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff, CF14 (6). Therefore, AAMP sequence homologies indicate that it 4XN, U.K. Tel: +44 2920742895, Fax: +44 2920742896, e-mail: [email protected] may play a role in cell adhesion, migration and innate immune response. Key Words: Angio-associated migratory cell protein, AAMP, breast Functional studies show that anti-recombinant AAMP cancer, prognosis, MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 cells. (anti-rAAMP) inhibits tubule formation by endothelial cells 0250-7005/2013 $2.00+.40 1499 ANTICANCER RESEARCH 33: 1499-1510 (2013) cultured on Matrigel (3). Anti-rAAMP also inhibits Table I. Transcript levels of angio-associated migratory cell protein endothelial and smooth-muscle cell motility (11, 14, 15). It (AAMP) in breast cancer. has also been found that the extracellular form of AAMP Clinical data n AAMP Transcripts plays a positive role in angiogenesis and can be regulated by (copies/μl, median ± Q1) astrocytes, and has led to the hypothesis that the regulation of extracellular AAMP in endothelial cells by astrocytes may Tissue sample aid in the angiogenesis of the nervous system (14). The Tumor 102 10.9±0.6 peptide P189, derived from AAMP was also found to possess Normal 28 1.1±0.2 (**p=0.0077 vs. tumour) the ability to bind and cluster MCF-7 breast cancer cells and NPI human A2058 melanoma cells (5). 1 (NPI score <3.4) 49 12.1±1.4 AAMP was identified as a binding partner of NOD2 2 (NPI score =3.4-5.4) 36 17.3±0.8 through co-immunoprecipitation studies, using human 3 (NPI score >5.4) 14 3±2 embryonic kidney cells (HEK293T), and was found to have Tumor grade 1 18 76±7 functional implication in NOD2-mediated signalling, playing 2 33 20.8±1.6 a negative regulatory role in NOD2-mediated nuclear factor- 3 51 4.2±0.6 kappa B (NF-κB) pathways (6, 7). Studies have (**p=0.0054 vs. grade 1) demonstrated that AAMP causes the translocation and TNM stage activation of ras homolog gene family, member A (RhoA) in I 53 17.1±2.7 II 35 4.6±0.1 (* smooth muscle and endothelial cells. Activated RhoA III 6 71±4 subsequently interacts with its effector rho-kinase (ROCK), IV 3 91.8±1.5 generating the driving force for smooth muscle cells to Survival status migrate and to divide, leading to re-stenosis and Disease-free (DF) 70 8.0±1.4 atherosclerosis (11). AAMP has been identified as a novel With metastases (MT) 7 0.4±0.2 With local recurrence (LT) 5 34±2 interacting partner of both thromboxane A2 receptor-alpha Died of breast cancer (Died) 12 74±4 (TPα) and -beta (TPβ) through an interaction dependent on (*p=0.036 vs. disease-free) common and unique sequences within their carboxyl- Poor prognosis (PP) 24 32.1±0.9 terminal tail domains. The identification of a specific Histology interaction between TPα/β and AAMP is likely to have Ductal 82 10.9±1.4 Lobular 10 13.3±6.4 substantial functional implications for vascular pathologies Mucinous 3 3±0 in which they are both implicated (7). Medullary 1 0.56 Previous studies have shown that AAMP plays a role in Tubular 1 34.1 angiogenesis, one of the most important mechanisms of Other 5 3±0.3 tumour development and metastasis, and is involved in signal ER ERα-positive 32 13.5±2.6 transduction related to the cellular processes of adhesion, ERα-negative 63 10.8±0.8 migration and proliferation. AAMP is found to be expressed ERβ-positive 21 1.2±0.1 in many tumour tissues and cell lines. Together, these data ERβ-negative 77 20.8±2.3 suggest that AAMP may play a role in tumourigenesis, (**p=0.0017 vs. ERβ-positive) tumour development and/or spread. However, the potential contribution of AAMP to breast carcinogenesis and tumour progression has not been directly investigated. In this study, we examined the expression of AAMP in human breast cancer specimens and cell lines. An AAMP knockdown cell breast cancer patients. The pathologist verified normal background and cancer specimens and confirmed that the background samples model using hammerhead ribozymes was used to study the were free from tumour deposits. The median follow-up for the function of AAMP in vitro. cohort was 120 months. The relevant information is provided in Table I. Materials and Methods Immunohistochemical staining of AAMP. The Avidin-Biotin Human breast specimens. A total of 130 breast samples were Complex (ABC) method of immunohistochemistry staining was obtained from patients with breast cancer (28 were background used to assess the protein expression of AAMP in tissue sections. normal breast tissues, and 102 were breast cancer tissues). These Paraffin sections of mammary tissues (18 paired normal and 18 tissues were collected immediately after mastectomy and snap- matched tumour tissues, as well as dissected tumour tissues) were frozen in liquid nitrogen, following approval of a local Ethical cut at a thickness of 6 μm. The sections were first dewaxed using a Committee. A number of background normal mammary tissue series of gradient alcohol washes. Endogenous peroxidase activity samples were obtained from non-cancerous regions from the same was blocked with 0.3% hydrogen peroxide for 15 min before 1500 Yin et al: AAMP in Human Breast Cancer Table II. Primers used for reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and quantitative-polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) in the present study. Gene of interest Primer name Primer sequence (5’-3’) Optimal annealing temperature (˚C) Angio-associated migratory cell AAMP Ribozyme 1F CTGCAGACCCTCAGTCCCTTTCA 55 protein (AAMP) Ribozyme GTACATGCTGATGAGTCCGTGAGGA AAMP Ribozyme 1R ACTAGTGGGACCTGAAGCAGGGAA 55 GCCCTATTTCGTCCTCACGGACT Angio-associated migratory AAMP F11 TCGAGGTGGTAGAACTTGAT 55 cell protein (AAMP) AAMP R11 AGGTCTTGCAGTCACCATT 55 AAMP F12 ACTAAGGAGGAGGTCTGGTC 55 AAMP R12 ACTGATGCCTAAGAGTCTGC 55 Angio-associated migratory cell AAMP Zr11 ACTGAACCTGACCGTACATC 55 protein (AAMP) (Q-PCR) TTCCTCAAAGTCCACATC Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate GAPDH F8 GGCTGCTTTTAACTCTGGTA 55 dehydrogenase (GAPDH) GAPDH R8 GACTGTGGTCATGAGTCCTT 55 Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate GAPDH F2 CTGAGTACGTCGTGGAGTC 55 dehydrogenase (GAPDH) (Q-PCR) GAPDH ZR2 ACTGAACCTGACCGTACAC 55 AGAGATGACCCTTTG Z-sequence on Q-PCR primers (5’ ACTGAACCTGACCGTACA’3).