Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Jun;16(2):152-8.
doi: 10.4048/jbc.2013.16.2.152. Epub 2013 Jun 28.

Associations between the Expression of Mucins (MUC1, MUC2, MUC5AC, and MUC6) and Clinicopathologic Parameters of Human Breast Ductal Carcinomas

Sung-Im Do  1 , Kyungeun Kim, Dong-Hoon Kim, Seoung Wan Chae, Yong Lai Park, Chan Heun Park, Jin Hee Sohn
Affiliations

Associations between the Expression of Mucins (MUC1, MUC2, MUC5AC, and MUC6) and Clinicopathologic Parameters of Human Breast Ductal Carcinomas

Sung-Im Do et al. J Breast Cancer. 2013 Jun.

Abstract

Purpose: Mucins are members of the glycoprotein family expressed in benign and malignant epithelial cells. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationships between the expression of mucins in breast ductal carcinoma and clinicopathologic parameters.

Methods: We constructed tumor microarrays based on 240 cases of invasive ductal carcinoma and 40 cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) using formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tissues. We examined the expressions of MUC1, MUC2, MUC5AC, and MUC6 by immunohistochemistry.

Results: MUC1 demonstrated cytoplasmic, membranous, apical, and combinative expressions. Other mucins demonstrated cytoplasmic expression. In invasive ductal carcinoma, MUC1, MUC2, MUC5AC, and MUC6 were expressed in 93.6%, 6.2%, 4.8%, and 12.4% of cases, respectively; these rates were slightly, but not significantly, higher than observed in cases of DCIS. MUC1 expression was associated with estrogen receptor (ER) expression and negative MUC1 expression was associated with triple negativity. MUC6 expression was correlated with higher histologic grade, lymphatic invasion, lymph node metastasis, and HER2 positivity. No associations with any other clinicopathologic parameters were observed.

Conclusion: Most invasive ductal carcinomas of the breast express MUC1, and this expression is associated with ER expression. MUC6 expression is correlated with some clinicopathologic parameters that are indicators of poor prognosis. To evaluate the role of MUC6 as a potential biomarker, further studies are warranted.

Keywords: Breast neoplasms; Human MUC1 protein; Human MUC6 protein; Mucins.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
MUC1 expression with cytoplasmic, membranous and apical or combinative location. MUC1 expression shows variable subcellular locations, such as cytoplasmic (A), membranous (B), apical (C), and combinative cytoplasmic and membranous (D) (immunohistochemical staining, ×200).
Figure 2
Figure 2
MUC2, MUC5AC, and MUC6 expression. MUC2 (A), MUC5AC (B), and MUC6 (C) show cytoplasm expression (immunohistochemical staining, ×200).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Kaplan-Meier survival analysis results for MUC1 (A), MUC2 (B), MUC5AC (C), and MUC6 (D). Statistical significance for survival is not observed in any of the mucins.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Gendler SJ, Spicer AP. Epithelial mucin genes. Annu Rev Physiol. 1995;57:607–634. - PubMed
    1. Kim YS, Gum J, Jr, Brockhausen I. Mucin glycoproteins in neoplasia. Glycoconj J. 1996;13:693–707. - PubMed
    1. Fowler J, Vinall L, Swallow D. Polymorphism of the human muc genes. Front Biosci. 2001;6:D1207–D1215. - PubMed
    1. Hollingsworth MA, Swanson BJ. Mucins in cancer: protection and control of the cell surface. Nat Rev Cancer. 2004;4:45–60. - PubMed
    1. Osako M, Yonezawa S, Siddiki B, Huang J, Ho JJ, Kim YS, et al. Immunohistochemical study of mucin carbohydrates and core proteins in human pancreatic tumors. Cancer. 1993;71:2191–2199. - PubMed