Role of Plexin B1 in a Breast Cancer Cohort of Pakistani Patients and its Contribution Towards Cancer Metastasis as Indicated by an In Vitro Model.

BACKGROUND/AIM:In the current study, the role of plexin B1 in breast cancer metastasis was explored. MATERIALS AND METHODS:Freshly-excised tumours along with background tissues of affected patients (n=121) were collected from Pakistani hospitals and processed for RNA isolation and cDNA synthesis. Using quantitative polymerase chain reaction, expression of plexin B1 was evaluated and correlated with clinicopathological parameters. Furthermore, involvement of plexin B1 in metastasis was explored by generating gene knockdown in MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 breast cancer cells. RESULTS:Poorly-differentiated tumours showed low plexin B1 expression in comparison to well-differentiated ones. Similarly, reduced plexin B1 expression correlated positively with advanced tumour stage and metastasis. Loss of plexin B1 significantly reduced cell adhesion in comparison with respective control cell lines (p<0.05). Knockdown of plexin B1 in MDA-MB-231 cells led to a remarkable increase in cell motility in contrast to the respective control. CONCLUSION:Loss of plexin B1 expression might play a pivotal role in enhancing the metastatic potential of breast cancer cells.

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