Dietary Regulation of PTEN Signaling and Mammary Tumor Initiating Cells: Implications for Breast Cancer Prevention
Abstract
Epidemiological and case control studies have shown a two- to eight-fold lower occurrence of breast cancer in Asian women whose early intake of soy products is 10 to 20 times higher than their American counterparts (1). Our laboratory has shown that dietary exposure to soy protein isolate (SPI) protects against breast cancer in rats partly due to upregulation of tumor suppressor phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) and inhibition of the oncogenic Wnt signaling pathway (2-5). Breast cancer is thought to originate from a population of stem and progenitor cells that are relatively undifferentiated and long-lived/immortal, which, in turn, facilitate long-term accumulation of oncogenic mutations and susceptibility to transformation (6). Ectopic expression of Wnt-1 in the mammary gland of female mice results in heterogeneous mammary tumors relevant to human disease (7). A linkage between PTEN and Wnt signaling pathways in mammary tumorigenesis is suggested by the findings that PTEN deficiency results in decreased latency of tumor formation in Wnt-1 transgenic mice (7).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA547234
Entities
People
- Omar Rahal
Organizations
- Arkansas Children's Hospital