Evidence for phenotypic plasticity in aggressive triple-negative breast cancer: human biology is recapitulated by a novel model system.

ABSTRACT: Breast cancers with a basal-like gene signature are primarily triple-negative, frequently metastatic, and carry a poor prognosis. Basal-like breast cancers are enriched for markers of breast cancer stem cells as well as markers of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). While EMT is generally thought to be important in the process of metastasis, in vivo evidence of EMT in human disease remains rare. Here we report a novel model of human triple-negative breast cancer, the DKAT cell line, which was isolated from an aggressive, treatment-resistant triple-negative breast cancer that demonstrated morphological and biochemical evidence suggestive of phenotypic plasticity in the patient. The DKAT cell line displays a basal-like phenotype in vitro when cultured in serum-free media, and undergoes

SUBMITTER: D'Amato NC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3458110 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature