No abstract

Detection of cytokeratin-19 (CK19) expression as an epithelial-specific marker in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) of breast cancer patients can be important for diagnostic purposes. Comparison of CK19 expression in breast cancer cell lines can indicate that expression of this marker is different in various breast cancer cell lines based on their category. Thirty-five breast cancer patients were evaluated for detection of CK19 mRNA in their peripheral blood using CK19-specific primers and a nested reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique. CK19 expression levels were detected in MCF7, T47D, SK-BR-3, and MDA-MB-231 cell lines by semiquantitative RT-PCR and Western blot analyses. Statistical analysis of our data indicates that there is no significant difference between CK19 expression and histopathological parameters and some molecular markers, including Ki-67, HER-2, and P53, but there are statistically significant correlations between estrogen receptor (P = 0.040) and progesterone receptor (P = 0.046) with CK19 expression. CK19 expression was detected in MCF7, T47D, and SK-BR-3 cell lines but not in MDA-MB-231 cell line. More studies are needed to determine the relationship between this marker and other markers in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. On the other hand, the study of different markers using breast cancer cell lines as experimental models of breast cancer could have an impact on improving the health outcomes of patients with breast cancer.

Cytokeratin19 (CK19) was detected as the most related marker for circulating tumor cells, which was assessed in specific cell lines. MCF7, SKBR3, T47D, and MDA-MB-231, and HeLa cell line as negative control were used. CK19 expression was confirmed by using mouse monoclonal anti-human CK19 antibody. CK19 detection in MDA-MB-231 was not observed. CK19 marker expression was compared in T47D, MCF7, and SKBR3 cell lines. T47D and MCF7 belonged to the luminal subtype of breast cancer (BC) that CK19 expression regulated with an ER marker. SKBR3 belonged to the HER2 positive subtype of BC. However, MDA-MB-231 belonged to the claudin-low subtype of BC that lack of CK19 expression strongly is related to negative ER, PR, and HER2. Therefore, there are not only quantitative differences in CK19 expression, but its expression could also link to the other markers of BC that should be considered in the molecular classification of breast carcinoma. Different expression levels related to cell classification could be useful in the prognosis and treatment of cancers with epithelial origins.