Increased trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) expression is associated with a positive survival rate in patients with breast cancer

Abstract

We conclude that TAAR1 seems to be an independent predictor for breast cancer survival. Modulation of TAAR1 may represent a novel targeting strategy for breast cancer prevention and therapy.

In focus in HCB

“…Although TAAR1 was detected intracellularly by immunofluorescence in all investigated breast carcinoma cell lines, in some (MCF-7, MDA-MB-468, and SKBR3), it was found to be located in the nucleus. The apparent difference between the results obtained by Pitts et al (2019) and those previously reported by Vattai et al (2017) seems to be due to lack of specificity of the commercially available rabbit anti-TAAR1 antibody, as shown in controls using a rabbit isotype control IgG and by shRNA knockdown.…”

“…Trace amine-associated receptors (TAARs) belong to the family of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and are mainly expressed in the central nervous system, but also detectable in various other tissues and leukocytes (Berry et al 2017;Regard et al 2008). Recent data indicated a positive correlation between TAAR1 expression in human breast carcinoma, and both patient survival and HER2 overexpression (Vattai et al 2017), which indicated that TAAR1 might be an independent survival predictor. Extending upon this finding, Pitts et al (2019) have now performed an in-depth bioinformatics analysis of TAAR1 mRNA expression profiles to provide an independent verification of these findings.…”

Trace Amines and Their Receptors

“…This includes the D cells of the stomach Revel et al, 2013;Adriaenssens et al, 2015;Raab et al, 2015), pancreatic b cells (Regard et al, 2007;Revel et al, 2013;Raab et al, 2015), and intestinal enterochromaffin mucosal cells (Kidd et al, 2008;Ito et al, 2009;Revel et al, 2013;Raab et al, 2015) of both rodents and humans. Multiple groups have also reported the presence of TAAR1 mRNA and protein in various populations of mouse and human leukocytes (D'Andrea et al, 2003;Nelson et al, 2007;Wasik et al, 2012;Babusyte et al, 2013), and the presence of TAAR1 protein in breast tissue was suggested very recently (Vattai et al, 2017), although in this latter instance no details on the cell type(s) in which staining was observed were provided. Furthermore, …”

“…Cancer. A recent study reported that an increase in TAAR1 expression in breast cancer cells is associated with longer survival times for patients (Vattai et al, 2017). TAAR1 expression was further suggested to correlate with that of the human epidermal growth factor receptor Her2 and to be related to tumor cell differentiation.…”

TAAR1 induces a disturbed GSK3β phosphorylation in recurrent miscarriages through the ODC

“…In a recent study, we analysed the regulation of TAAR1 in breast cancer tissue of primary breast cancer patients and identified that TAAR1 seems to be an independent predictor for breast cancer survival ( 23 ). TAAR1 overexpression (IRS ≥ 6) was associated with a significantly longer overall survival (OS) of breast cancer patients ( P = 0.02) than reduced TAAR1 expression (IRS < 6) during a maximum follow-up of 14 years, demonstrating that TAAR1 has a favourable effect on OS of early breast cancer patients ( 23 ).…”