The influence of tumor necrosis factor-α on the tumorigenic Wnt-signaling pathway in human mammary tissue from obese women.

ABSTRACT: Epidemiological studies have convincingly suggested that obesity is an important risk factor for postmenopausal breast cancer, but the mechanisms responsible for this relationship are still not fully understood. We hypothesize that obesity creates a low-grade inflammatory microenvironment, which stimulates Wnt-signaling and thereby promotes the development of breast cancer. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated the correlations between expression of multiple inflammatory cytokines and Wnt pathway downstream genes in mammary tissues from women (age ≥ 50) undergoing reduction mammoplasty. Moreover, we specifically examined the role of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), an important proinflammatory cytokine associated with obesity and a possible modulator of the Wnt pathway. The regulatory effe

SUBMITTER: Roubert A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5482643 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature