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Elevated TRF2 in advanced breast cancers with short telomeres

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Abstract

Telomere repeat binding factor 2 (TRF2) binds directly to telomeres and preserves the structural integrity of chromosome ends. In vitro models suggest that expression of TRF2 protein increases during mammary cancer progression. However, a recent study has reported that TRF2 mRNA levels tend to be lower in clinical specimens of malignant breast tissue. Here, we conduct the first large-scale investigation to assess the levels and cellular localization of the TRF2 protein in normal, pre-malignant and malignant breast tissues. Breast tissue arrays, containing normal, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and invasive carcinoma specimens, were used to assess the expression and localization of TRF2 protein. Telomere lengths were semi-quantitatively measured using a pantelomeric peptide nucleic acid probe. A mixed effects modeling approach was used to assess the relationship between TRF2 expression and telomeric signal scores across disease states or clinical staging. We demonstrate that TRF2 is exclusively nuclear with a trend toward lower expression with increased malignancy. More case-to-case variability of TRF2 immunostaining intensity was noted amongst the invasive carcinomas than the other disease groups. Invasive carcinomas also displayed variable telomere lengths while telomeres in normal mammary epithelium were generally longer. Statistical analyses revealed that increased TRF2 immunostaining intensity in invasive carcinomas is associated with shorter telomeres and shorter telomeres correlate with a higher TNM stage. All immortalized and cancer cell lines within the array displayed strong, nuclear TRF2 expression. Our data indicate that elevated expression of TRF2 is not a frequent occurrence during the transformation of breast cancer cells in vivo, but higher levels of this telomere-binding protein may be important for protecting advanced cancer cells with critically short telomeres. Our findings also reinforce the concept that serially propagated cancer cells, although tumor-derived, may not model all types of authentic tumors especially those demonstrating genetic heterogeneity.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Anatomic Pathology Research Services at Virginia Commonwealth University for providing anonymized breast tissues for antibody optimization and for use of their Nikon microscopic workstation. This study was supported by a National Institutes of Health KO1 CA105050-01A131 (to LWE). It was also funded, in part, by a grant (CJC) from the National Institute of Environmental Health (R01 ES12074). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIEHS, NIH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, 23298, USA

    Malissa C. Diehl, Timothy P. York, Colleen K. Jackson-Cook & Shawn E. Holt

  2. Department of Pathology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1101 E. Marshall St, Richmond, VA, 23298, USA

    Michael O. Idowu, Katherine N. Kimmelshue, Colleen K. Jackson-Cook, Kristi C. Turner, Shawn E. Holt & Lynne W. Elmore

  3. Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, 23298, USA

    Timothy P. York

  4. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, 23298, USA

    Shawn E. Holt

  5. Massey Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, 23298, USA

    Colleen K. Jackson-Cook, Shawn E. Holt & Lynne W. Elmore

Authors
  1. Malissa C. Diehl
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  2. Michael O. Idowu
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  3. Katherine N. Kimmelshue
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  4. Timothy P. York
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  5. Colleen K. Jackson-Cook
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  6. Kristi C. Turner
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  7. Shawn E. Holt
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  8. Lynne W. Elmore
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Correspondence to Lynne W. Elmore.

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Diehl, M.C., Idowu, M.O., Kimmelshue, K.N. et al. Elevated TRF2 in advanced breast cancers with short telomeres. Breast Cancer Res Treat 127, 623–630 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-010-0988-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-010-0988-7

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