Importance of Nectin2, NUF2, and Nectin4 Gene Expression in the Pathogenesis of Different Subtypes of Breast Cancer

The targeted therapy using breast cancer (BC)-associated biomarkers has significantly minimized the side-effects of BC treatment. This study aims to elucidate the role of Nectin2, NUF2, and Nectin4 gene expression in the pathogenesis of BC.

In this case-control study, the expression of Nectin2, Nectin4, and NUF2 genes was investigated through real-time polymerase chain reaction assay in 46 tumor tissues from BC patients and 46 adjacent non-tumorous tissues as a control group. Data were analyzed using SPSS-21 software, employing independent t-tests and one-way ANOVA. A P-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The results demonstrated a significant increase in the expression of the NUF2 gene in tumor tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues (P = 0.005, fold change = 3.7). No statistically significant difference was observed in the expression of Nectin2 and Nectin4 between the tumor and adjacent tissues. However, higher expression of Nectin2 was noted in the early stages of the disease, particularly in subtypes with estrogen receptor-positive (ER+), progesterone receptor positive (PR+), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative (HER2-). Furthermore, the expression of NUF2 and Nectin4 was elevated in advanced stages and triple-negative BC subtypes. Notably, the expression of these three genes was higher in patients aged ≤ 45 years.

The findings suggest that the expression levels of NUF2, Nectin2, and Nectin4 genes may influence the initiation, progression, and pathogenesis of BC subtypes.