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Original Studies |
Department of Surgery (I.C., M.E.K., D.I.S.), Endocrine-Hypertension Division and Department of Medicine (N.C., O.K., R.R.B., E.M.B.), Brigham and Womens Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Edward M. Brown, M.D., Endocrine-Hypertension Division, Brigham and Womens Hospital, 221 Longwood Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115. E-mail: embrown{at}bics.bwh.harvard.edu
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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Ca2+o plays an important role in the breast, not only in its normal physiological function, but in pathologic states as well. Ca2+o is obviously an important constituent of milk, and lactating mothers produce breast milk containing about 200 mg Ca2+o daily (7). A diagnostically important characteristic of breast cancer is the tendency to form microcalcifications (8). In addition, in vitro studies have shown that increases in Ca2+o within the physiological range induce senescence and terminal differentiation of normal human breast epithelial cells in culture (9, 10). It is not known how Ca2+o is involved in these diverse physiological processes of the breast.
The present study was undertaken to evaluate the expression of CaR in human breast. Specifically, we assayed for CaR transcripts by RT-PCR and Northern analysis in normal breast, fibrocystic breast tissue, and/or ductal carcinoma of the breast. To assess the degree of homology of CaR transcripts expressed in breast tissues with the human parathyroid CaR (HuPCaR) complementary DNA (cDNA), nucleotide sequencing was performed on RT-PCR products amplified from each tissue. In addition, immunohistochemistry was performed using antibodies directed against the extracellular domain of the CaR and provided further localization and confirmation of expression of the CaR in sections of normal, fibrocystic, and malignant human breast tissues.
| Materials and Methods |
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Normal and fibrocystic tissues were obtained from two patients for each tissue type during surgery for various breast diseases. Ductal carcinoma tissue was procured during lumpectomy in two patients. This study was approved by the investigational review board at Brigham and Womens Hospital (Boston, MA).
Tissues and reagents
Tissue fragments were frozen after surgical removal and stored at -70 C. Histopathological examination by light microscopy was routinely performed on each tissue sample using standard techniques. For immunohistochemistry, tissues were snap-frozen, embedded in OCT compound (Miles, Elkhart, IN), and maintained in 2-methylbutane at -70 C until further use.
Isolation of total ribonucleic acid (RNA)
Total RNA was isolated as described previously (1, 2, 11). Briefly, 1 g tissue was homogenized in 8 mL 4 mol/L guanidine isothiocyanate, 25 mmol/L sodium citrate, and 1.12 mg/mL ß-mercaptoethanol. The homogenate was layered onto 4 mL of a 5.7 mol/L CsCl-25 mmol/L sodium acetate cushion and sedimented at 32,000 rpm at 18 C for 18 h. The RNA pellet was resuspended in water and concentrated by precipitation with sodium acetate and ethanol.
RT-PCR of CaR transcripts
A 425-bp product was amplified from RNA isolated from breast tissues by RT-PCR using primers specific for the human parathyroid cDNA based on previously described methodology (5). Total RNA (5 µg) for each of the tissues was reverse transcribed at 42 C (1 h) using random primers and the avian myeloblastoma virus reverse transcriptase from the cDNA Cycle Kit (Invitrogen, San Diego, CA). Sense and antisense primers from the 5'-end of the human parathyroid CaR cDNA were used to amplify a 425-bp DNA fragment. The PCR buffer contained 29.75 µL water, 5 µL 10 Thermo DNA poly 10x reaction buffer (Promega), 3.75 µL MgCl2 (25 mmol/L), 2 µL deoxynucleotide triphosphates (2.5 mmol/L each), 3 µL single-stranded cDNA, 3 µL each of the sense and antisense primers based on the sequence of the HuPCaR cDNA [primer 2009, 5'-CGGGGTACCTTAAGCACCTACGGCATCTAA-3' (bp 17451774); primer 2017, 5'-GCTCTAGAGTTAACGCGATCCCAAAGGG-CTC-3' (bp 22002230), respectively] and 0.5 µL Taq polymerase (2.5 U; Pharmacia LKB Biotechnology, Piscataway, NJ). Optimal cycling conditions were as follows: 92 C for 1 min, 55 C for 1 min, and 72 C for 1.5 min; cycling under these conditions was repeated 29 times, followed by a final extension step at 72 C for 8 min.
Nucleotide sequencing of CaR RT-PCR products
Primers 2009 and 2017 contained restriction sites for AflII and HpaI, respectively. Before sequencing, PCR products were digested with AflII and HpaI and ligated into the plasmid, pBluescript II SK- (Stratagene, La Jolla, CA). Bidirectional sequencing was performed by the dideoxy chain termination method (2) using an Applied Biosystems model 373A automated sequencer (Department of Genetics, Childrens Hospital, Boston, MA). Further nucleotide and amino acid analyses were carried out using GeneWorks software (version 2.3.1, IntelliGenetics, Mountain View, CA).
Northern analysis of messenger RNA (mRNA) encoding for the CaR
Polyadenylated [poly(A)+] RNA selection was carried out using oligo(deoxythymidine)-cellulose chromatography (1, 2). Aliquots of 5 µg denatured poly(A)+ RNA were electrophoresed on 2.2 mol/L formaldehyde-1% agarose gels and transferred overnight to nylon membranes (Duralon, Stratagene) (1, 2). A 486-bp KpnI-XbaI fragment corresponding to nucleotides 17452230 of the HuPCaR cDNA was subcloned into the pBluescript SK+ vector (Stratagene). The plasmid was then linearized with KpnI, and a [32P]UTP-labeled riboprobe was synthesized using the T3 polymerase site in the vector with the MAXIscript T3 kit (Ambion, Austin, TX). Nylon membranes were prehybridized for 2 h at 65 C in a solution consisting of 50% formamide, 4 x Denhardts solution (50 x Denhardts solution = 5 g Ficoll, 5 g polyvinylpyrrolidone, and 5 g BSA), 5 x SSPE (20 x SSPE = 2.98 mol/L NaCl and 0.02 mol/L ethylenediamine tetraacetate in 0.2 mol/L phosphate buffer, pH 7.0), 0.5% SDS, 25 mmol/L Tris (pH 7.5), 10.7 µg/mL yeast transfer RNA, and 250 µg/mL salmon sperm DNA. Labeled probe (2 x 106 cpm/mL) was then added, and the membranes were hybridized overnight at the same temperature. Washing was carried out twice at low stringency (2 x SSC [20 x SSC = 3 mol/L NaCl and 0.3 mol/L Na3-citrate(2H2O)] and 0.1% SDS at room temperature) for 2025 min and once at high stringency (0.1 x SSC-0.1% SDS at 65 C) for 15 min. 32P-Labeled bands were quantified using a PhosphorImager (Molecular Dynamics, Sunnyvale, CA) (12).
Immunohistochemistry
Immunohistochemistry was performed using techniques modified from those described previously (12, 13, 14). Sections (5 µm thick) were prepared on a cryostat and were postfixed in acetone for 10 min at -20 C. Endogenous peroxidases were inhibited by incubating the sections in Dako peroxidase blocking reagent (Dako Corp., Carpenteria, CA) for 10 min, followed by treatment with Dako protein block serum-free solution (Dako Corp.) for 1 h. The sections were then incubated overnight at 4 C with 10 µg/mL primary anti-CaR antisera in blocking solution (Dako Corp.; either affinity-purified rabbit polyclonal antiserum 4637 raised against a peptide corresponding to amino acids 345359 of the bovine parathyroid CaR or protein A-purified rabbit polyclonal antiserum 4641 raised against a peptide corresponding to residues 215237 of BoPCaR). Characterization of these antisera has been detailed previously (12, 13, 14). In both cases, the corresponding sequences of the immunogenic peptides were identical in the human and bovine CaRs. Control sections were prepared by incubation with protein A-purified preimmune serum or with anti-CaR antiserum preabsorbed with synthetic CaR peptide (10 µg Ab/20 µg peptide for antiserum 4637; 10 µg Ab/40 µg peptide for antiserum 4641) against which the antibody was raised. After washing the sections three times with 0.5% BSA in PBS for 10 min each time, peroxidase-coupled, goat antirabbit IgG (1:100; Sigma) was added and incubated for 1 h at room temperature. The slides were then washed in PBS three times for 10 min each time, and the color reaction was developed using the Dako AEC Substrate System (Dako Corp.) for about 5 min. The color reaction was stopped by washing three times in water.
| Results |
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In RNA prepared from normal and fibrocystic breast tissue as well
as from ductal carcinoma of the breast, RT-PCR amplified 425-bp DNA
fragments of the expected size for CaR transcripts, as shown in Fig. 1A
. These PCR products were of the same
size as those obtained from the HuPCaR cDNA as a positive control. The
primers that were employed spanned at least one intron, precluding
amplification of products of the same size from contaminating genomic
DNA; furthermore, no PCR products were amplified when the reverse
transcriptase was omitted from the reaction (not shown). Nucleotide
sequencing of RT-PCR products obtained from each tissue revealed more
than 99% nucleotide identity with the corresponding HuPCaR clone,
indicating that this PCR product was derived from bona fide
CaR transcripts (Fig. 1B
).
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Northern analysis (Fig. 2
) performed
at high stringency on the poly(A)+ RNA isolated from the
ductal carcinoma tissue that was used for RT-PCR revealed a single
5.2-kilobase (kb) transcript, similar in size to one of the principal
transcripts observed in human parathyroid gland and kidney. The latter
organs, however, expressed an additional 4.0-kb transcript in prior
studies (3, 4).
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Immunohistochemistry using two specific anti-CaR antisera directed
at highly conserved epitopes within the extracellular domain identified
strong CaR immunoreactivity along the epithelial cells lining the ducts
of the breast as well as in neoplastic breast epithelial cells in two
separate ductal carcinomas (Fig. 3
).
Staining was abolished by preincubation of the antibody with an excess
of the peptide against which the respective antisera were raised,
thereby confirming the specificity of the reaction.
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| Discussion |
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Our Northern analysis clearly demonstrates that CaR mRNA is present in the breast. The 5.2-kb transcript is similar in size to one of the major transcripts seen in human parathyroid. The parathyroid gland, however, expresses an additional 4.0-kb band. It is interesting to note that the sequence of the PCR product that was amplified from reverse transcribed CaR transcripts in all three types of breast tissue, including the 5.2-kb transcript observed in ductal carcinoma tissue, was the same as that of the 4.0-kb HuPCaR cDNA. The latter exhibits an in-frame 30-nucleotide deletion compared to the corresponding region of the sequence of the 5.2-kb clone isolated from human parathyroid (3). As the functions of the CaRs encoded by the 4.0- and 5.2-kb human parathyroid cDNA clones exhibited no obvious differences when expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes (3), the 30-nucleotide deletion present in the transcripts amplified from human breast tissue by RT-PCR is of uncertain significance.
By immunohistochemistry we demonstrated the presence of CaR protein in all three breast tissue types. Strong immunostaining was observed along the epithelial cells of the ducts in normal and fibrocystic breast tissue. Although there is a dearth of data about the regulation of the transport of Ca2+ into milk, the presence in the receptor in ductal cells raises the possibility of a role for the CaR in such transport processes. Furthermore, metastatic cancer of the breast is known to spread readily to bone (15). We have recently shown that numerous normal cells within the bone marrow express the CaR (16). Perhaps the presence of the CaR on normal and malignant mammary cells contributes to the tendency of these and other malignant cells to metastasize to bone, in which there are high local levels of Ca2+o related to bone resorption (17).
In summary, our data demonstrate the presence of CaR mRNA and protein in normal and malignant human breast tissue. Given the importance of Ca2+o in the breast, it is not difficult to imagine that the CaR may play diverse roles in the physiology and pathophysiology of breast tissue. Further studies are required to evaluate the role(s) of the CaR in the ductal epithelial cells shown to express it in this study.
| Footnotes |
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Received September 3, 1997.
Revised October 6, 1997.
Accepted October 28, 1997.
| References |
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