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© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

The expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS; NOS2) and derived NO in various cancers was reported to exert pro- and anti-tumorigenic effects depending on the levels of expression and the tumor types. In humans, the breast cancer level of iNOS was reported to be overexpressed, to exhibit pro-tumorigenic activities, and to be of prognostic significance. Likewise, the expression of the oncogenes HER2, BRCA1, and BRCA2 has been associated with malignancy. The interrelationship between the expression of these protooncogenes and oncogenes and the expression of iNOS is not clear. We have hypothesized that there exist cross-talk signaling pathways between the breast cancer protooncogenes, the iNOS axis, and iNOS-mediated NO mutations of these protooncogenes into oncogenes. We review the molecular regulation of the expression of the protooncogenes in breast cancer and their interrelationships with iNOS expression and activities. In addition, we discuss the roles of iNOS, HER2, BRCA1/2, and NO metabolism in the pathophysiology of cancer stem cells. Bioinformatic analyses have been performed and have found suggested molecular alterations responsible for breast cancer aggressiveness. These include the association of BRCA1/2 mutations and HER2 amplifications with the dysregulation of the NOS pathway. We propose that future studies should be undertaken to investigate the regulatory mechanisms underlying the expression of iNOS and various breast cancer oncogenes, with the aim of identifying new therapeutic targets for the treatment of breast cancers that are refractory to current treatments.

Details

Title
The Breast Cancer Protooncogenes HER2, BRCA1 and BRCA2 and Their Regulation by the iNOS/NOS2 Axis
Author
Lin, Katie 1 ; Baritaki, Stavroula 2 ; Vivarelli, Silvia 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Falzone, Luca 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Scalisi, Aurora 5 ; Libra, Massimo 6   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Bonavida, Benjamin 1 

 Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; [email protected] 
 Laboratory of Experimental Oncology, Division of Surgery, School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Crete, Greece; [email protected] 
 Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95030 Catania, Italy; [email protected] (S.V.); [email protected] (M.L.); Occupational Medicine Section, Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, 98123 Messina, Italy 
 Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit, IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori “Fondazione G. Pascale”, 80131 Naples, Italy; [email protected] 
 Italian League against Cancer, 95030 Catania, Italy; [email protected] 
 Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95030 Catania, Italy; [email protected] (S.V.); [email protected] (M.L.); Research Centre for Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer, University of Catania, 95030 Catania, Italy 
First page
1195
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20763921
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2679645343
Copyright
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.