BackgroundSyndecan binding protein (SDCBP), an adapter protein containing PDZ domains, contributes to the tumorigenicity and metastasis of many malignant tumors, such as malignant melanoma. Our study aimed in revealing the expression profile of SDCBP in breast cancer (BCa) and its role in tumor cell proliferation, and then exploring its value in the targeted treatment of BCa.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe first evaluated the SDCBP expression by immunohistochemistry in normal breast and BCa tissues. Then we explored the expression profile of SDCBP in different BCa cell lines. By constructing SDCBP-silenced BCa cell clones, we further assessed the effects of SDCBP suppression on tumor cells in vitro by cell culture and in vivo by tumorigenicity. SDCBP expression was detected in 80.6% (n = 160) of BCa tissues, in contrast to its expression in 13% (n = 23) of normal breast tissues (P<0.001). Among the tumors, the level of its expression was positively correlated with histological grade and tumor staging while negatively correlated with the estrogen receptor (ER) expression. Higher expression of SDCBP was also noted in ER-negative BCa cell lines. It was also identified that SDCBP expression was down-regulated in a dose-dependent mode by 17-β estradiol in estrogen-responsive MCF-7. Furthermore, SDCBP silence inhibited ER-negative tumor cell growth in vivo and in vitro. Cell cycle studies showed that SDCBP silence increased G1 cell population and resulted in related cell-cycle-regulator changes: up-regulation of p21 and p27 while down-regulation of cyclin E.Conclusion/SignificanceOur results suggested that SDCBP played an important role in tumor growth of ER-negative BCas. In these tumors where the estrogen signaling pathway is not available, SDCBP probably contribute to tumor growth through an alternative signaling pathway by promoting tumor cells passing the G1/S checkpoint into the cell cycle. Suppression of SDCBP expression may have its potential to become a targeted therapy for ER-negative BCas.

It has been reported that dense intratumoral infiltration of Foxp3 +Tregs (Tregs) was an independent factor for poor prognosis of breast cancer (BC) patients. However, the cytokines activating the Treg infiltration are not known. This study was undertaken to evaluate the role of CCL22 and TGF-β1 in this cascade and their prognostic significance for BC patients. 417 cases of invasive breast cancer were selected from the prior study cohort and the expressions of CCL22 and TGF-β1 were assessed by immunohistochemistry. It was identified that tumor secretion of CCL22 was positively correlated with the intratumoral Treg infiltration (P<0.0001), but its association with lymphoid aggregates surrounding the tumor was not proven to be significant (P=0.056). Moreover, CCL22 expression was found to be associated with the tumor histological features known to be related with unfavorable prognosis of patients, including high histological grade (P<0.0001), negative ER (P<0.0001), negative PR (P=0.001), and HER2 amplification (P=0.028). Similar to intratumoral Treg infiltrates, CCL22 tumor secretion correlated with the prognosis of the molecular subtypes of breast carcinoma (P<0.0001). Univariate analysis revealed CCL22 to be an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (OS, P<0.0001) and progression-free survival (PFS, P<0.0001) of BC patients that were confirmed by multivariate analysis (P=0.011 and P=0.010 respectively). In contrast, although TGF-β1 expression was positively correlated with both Tregs infiltrates into the tumor bed and lymphoid aggregates surrounding the tumor (P=0.023; P=0.046, respectively), its expression was not significantly associated with the molecular subtypes of breast carcinoma and the prognosis of the patients. Our study indicates that both CCL22 and TGF-β1 are candidate chemoattractants for intratumoral Foxp3 +Tregs infiltration; however, unlike the later, CCL22 is an independent prognostic predictor of BC patients, and it therefore may have the potential to serve as a target for immunotherapeutic strategy of BC.

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Abstract-On the basis of the extended Huygens-Fresnel principle, the cross-spectral density matrix (CSDM) of partially coherent Gaussian Schell-model (GSM) beams in the slant atmospheric turbulence is derived. Given that the light emitted from a transmitter is elliptically polarized light, the degree of polarization (DoP) of the partially coherent GSM beams is represented by Stokes parameters expressed by the elements of the CSDM. The expressions of the orientation angle, polarized light intensity in the major axis are derived and the numerical results are presented. Depolarization theory is studied using a Mueller matrix and the depolarization index (DI) is obtained to describe the depolarized state of the partially coherent GSM beams propagating in the slant atmospheric turbulence. Results show that the DOP and DI of the beam tend to their initial value in the long-range propagation.

Juvenile papillomatosis (JP), also termed Swiss cheese disease, is a rare and benign type of proliferative breast tumor that is specifically observed in children and adolescents. The majority of JP patients are Caucasian and exhibit a single breast mass. The current report presents an unusual case of bifocal JP in an 11-year-old Chinese female. The patient presented with a slow-growing palpable mass in the upper outer quadrant of the left breast. Ultrasonography identified a further impalpable lesion in the lower outer quadrant of the ipsilateral breast. The preoperative clinical diagnosis of the two masses was fibroadenoma, however, following complete excision of the two tumors, histopathology revealed JP. Furthermore, the patient had a family history of breast cancer. The current report describes a review of the literature regarding the presentation, pathology, diagnosis, and treatment of JP and its association with breast carcinoma. In the current case, JP was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in the patient, as well as the patient’s elder female relatives; therefore, a more thorough medical follow-up may prove prudent for those individuals with a high risk of developing breast cancer.