
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
1 Etiology Program, Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI and 2 Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Requests for reprints: Loïc Le Marchand, Etiology Program, Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, University of Hawaii, 1236 Lauhala Street, Suite 407, Honolulu, HI 96813. Phone: (808) 586-2988; Fax: (808) 586-2082. E-mail: loic{at}crch.hawaii.edu
| Abstract |
|---|
|
|
|---|
| Introduction |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Several polymorphisms have been described in the TGF-ß1 gene, including a T-to-C transition at nt 29 in the region encoding the signal sequence (nt 869 relative to the transcription start site) which results in a Leu-Pro substitution at the 10th amino acid. This common variant has been associated with higher TGF-ß1 serum levels (7, 8), an increased risk of osteoporosis (9), and a decreased risk of myocardial infarction in men but not in women (8). The investigation of this polymorphism with regard to breast cancer risk has recently begun and the data published to date have been inconsistent. The CC genotype has been associated with a 64% decreased breast cancer risk in a cohort study of 3075 white American women over age 65 at recruitment (10). In contrast, in a pooled analysis of three European case-control studies (3987 cases, 3867 controls), the CC genotype was associated with a 21% increased risk of breast cancer (11). Finally, in a hospital-based study of 232 cases and 172 controls conducted in Japan, no significant association was found between the CC genotype and breast cancer (12).
In an attempt to clarify the role of the TGF-ß signaling pathway in breast carcinogenesis, we tested the association of this polymorphism with postmenopausal breast cancer in a large case-control study nested in the Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) study.
| Methods |
|---|
|
|
|---|
DNA was purified from buffy coats of peripheral blood and buccal cell samples using a PureGene Blood Kit (Gentra Systems, Minneapolis, MN) or a QIAamp 96 DNA Blood Kit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA). A genotyping method was developed for the TGFB1 T29C polymorphism using the fluorogenic 5'-nuclease assay (TaqMan Assay) (15). The assays were performed using a TaqMan PCR Core Reagent kit [Applied Biosystems (ABI), Foster City, CA] according to manufacturer's instructions. The oligonucleotide primers for amplification of the polymorphic region of TGFB were GC088for (5'-CCACCACACCAGCCCTGTTC-3') and GC088rev (5'-CCGCTTCACCAGCTCCATGT-3'). In addition, the fluorogenic oligonucleotide probes (TaqMan MGB Probes; ABI) used to detect each of the alleles were GC088F (5'-CTGCTGCCGCTGCT-3') labeled with 6-FAM to detect the C allele and GC088C (5'-CTGCTGCTGCTGCT-3') labeled with VIC to detect the T allele. PCR amplification using
10 ng of genomic DNA was performed in a thermal cycler (MWG Biotech, High Point, NC) with an initial step of 95°C for 10 min, followed by 50 cycles of 95°C for 25 s and 68°C for 1min. The fluorescence profile of each well was measured in an ABI 7900HT Sequence Detection System and the results analyzed with Sequence Detection Software (ABI). Experimental samples were compared to 12 controls to identify the three genotypes at each locus (CC, CT, TT). Any samples that were outside the parameters defined by the controls were identified as noninformative and were retested. Data for 166 samples that showed a weak signal and 332 samples for which the genotyping remained unsuccessful were excluded, leaving 3437 subjects for analysis. Results of all 204 blind duplicate pairs inserted in the sample plates for quality control were concordant.
The statistical analysis used unconditional logistic regression to compute odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the genotypes (16). All models were adjusted for ethnicity, age at blood draw, age at menarche, parity, and age at first birth. Genotype was modeled as indicator variables representing the genotypes at the candidate locus, or as a gene dosage effect variable assigned a value of 1, 2, or 3 according to the number of variant alleles at this locus (zero, one, and two variant alleles, respectively). The likelihood ratio test was used to determine interactions among certain variables with respect to breast cancer. The test compares a main effects, no interaction model with a fully parameterized model containing all possible interaction terms for the variables of interest. Deviation from the Hardy Weinberg equilibrium was tested with the
2 test.
| Results |
|---|
|
|
|---|
|
|
| Discussion |
|---|
|
|
|---|
There is a strong rationale for investigating the role of this genetic variant as a possible contributor to cancer susceptibility. Laboratory studies have shown that TGF-ß is an important regulator of various cellular processes in the normal and malignant mammary gland (1). Acting through its downstream elements, the SMAD proteins and its receptors, TGF-ß inhibits cell cycle progression in lobular and ductal epithelial cells and, thus, acts as a tumor suppressor in early stages of breast tumor development (24). In later stages, as a result of changes in tumor cell responsiveness, TGF-ß acts as a promoter by enhancing tumor cell motility and invasiveness (17). This dual role has been clearly demonstrated in several transgenic mouse models (18), some highly relevant to human breast carcinogenesis (6). Also, suggestive of a role for the TGF-ß signaling pathway in the progression of human breast cancers are the findings of somatic mutations in type I and II TGF-ß receptor genes (TBR1 and TBR2) in recurrent or metastatic breast tumors (19, 20). Furthermore, TGF-ß-RII expression has been shown to inversely correlate with breast tumor aggressiveness, as assessed by tumor grade, mitotic count, and clinical stage (21).
On the basis of these laboratory data, it is hypothesized that sequence variants which modify the function of genes in the TGF-ß signaling pathway may affect breast cancer risk. The common T29C transition in TGFB1, resulting in a Leu10Pro substitution in the signal peptide sequence, is a good candidate locus because it has been associated with higher circulating TGF-ß1 levels (7, 8). Three published studies have examined its association with breast cancer. In a cohort study of 3075 US white women recruited at age 65 or older, the CC genotype was associated with a markedly lower risk of breast cancer [hazard ratio of 0.36 (95% CI: 0.170.75)] and a delayed age at diagnosis (10). Although some in situ cases were included, 86% of the tumors were invasive in this study (10). In a pooled analysis of three European, population-based case-control studies (3987 cases with invasive tumors, 3867 controls), the TGFB1 29 CC genotype was found to be weakly associated with an increased breast cancer risk [OR = 1.21 (95% CI: 1.051.31)] (11). No data were presented stratified on stage or age at diagnosis, although it was reported that there was "no significant differences in the magnitude of the ORs...by patient age, tumor stage, or grade at diagnosis" (11). In vitro transfection experiments by the same group showed that the signal peptide with Pro at residue 10 caused a 2.8-fold increase in secretion compared with the Leu form (11). Finally, in a hospital-based case-control study of 232 prevalent breast cancer cases and 172 controls in Japan, Hishida et al. (12) reported ORs of 0.81 (95% CI: 0.501.34) and 0.77 (95% CI: 0.451.34) for the TC and CC genotypes, respectively, compared to the TT genotype. The OR for the CC genotype among premenopausal women was 0.45 (95% CI: 0.200.98), whereas it was 1.40 (95% CI: 0.643.08) for postmenopausal women, suggesting a modifying effect of menopausal status. Consistent with the lack of agreement in the published data (which are not easily explainable by the minor differences in design), our results did not suggest any clear association between the TGFB1 29 CC genotype and breast cancer. However, due to the composition of our sample, our findings only pertain to invasive postmenopausal breast cancer.
The strengths of the present study warrant consideration. Information on potential confounders was obtained before diagnosis and the samples were analyzed without knowledge of the case-control status of the subjects, eliminating the possibility of differential misclassification. The findings were reproduced across several ethnic groups, arguing against residual confounding by ethnicity. The allele frequency for the variant allele was similar to that available in the literature for Caucasians and Japanese and the genotype distributions were in Hardy Weinberg equilibrium, arguing against selection bias. Finally, the study was sufficiently powered, because it had an 80% power to detect an OR of 1.21, as reported in the study by Dunning et al. (11).
In summary, the present study suggests that the TGFB1 29C variant is not associated with postmenopausal breast cancer. Given the strong biological rationale and the paucity and inconsistency of the epidemiological data on this relationship to date, additional investigations appear warranted. However, future studies should also consider other variants in the TGF-ß signaling pathway (22).
| Footnotes |
|---|
The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
Received 9/23/03; accepted 11/ 6/03.
| References |
|---|
|
|
|---|
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
B. S. Saltzman, J. F. Yamamoto, R. Decker, L. Yokochi, A. G. Theriault, T. M. Vogt, and L. Le Marchand Association of Genetic Variation in the Transforming Growth Factor {beta}-1 Gene with Serum Levels and Risk of Colorectal Neoplasia Cancer Res., February 15, 2008; 68(4): 1236 - 1244. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
H. S. Feigelson, A. V. Patel, W. R. Diver, V. L. Stevens, M. J. Thun, and E. E. Calle Transforming Growth Factor {beta} Receptor Type I and Transforming Growth Factor {beta}1 Polymorphisms Are Not Associated with Postmenopausal Breast Cancer. Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev., June 1, 2006; 15(6): 1236 - 1237. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
D L Mattey, N Nixon, P T Dawes, and J Kerr Association of polymorphism in the transforming growth factor {beta}1 gene with disease outcome and mortality in rheumatoid arthritis Ann Rheum Dis, August 1, 2005; 64(8): 1190 - 1194. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. Shin, X.-O. Shu, Q. Cai, Y.-T. Gao, and W. Zheng Genetic Polymorphisms of the Transforming Growth Factor-{beta}1 Gene and Breast Cancer Risk: A Possible Dual Role at Different Cancer Stages Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev., June 1, 2005; 14(6): 1567 - 1570. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
V. G. Kaklamani, L. Baddi, J. Liu, D. Rosman, S. Phukan, C. Bradley, C. Hegarty, B. McDaniel, A. Rademaker, C. Oddoux, et al. Combined Genetic Assessment of Transforming Growth Factor-{beta} Signaling Pathway Variants May Predict Breast Cancer Risk Cancer Res., April 15, 2005; 65(8): 3454 - 3461. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| Cancer Research | Clinical Cancer Research |
| Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention | Molecular Cancer Therapeutics |
| Molecular Cancer Research | Cancer Prevention Research |
| Cancer Prevention Journals Portal | Cancer Reviews Online |
| Annual Meeting Education Book | Meeting Abstracts Online |