Study on the expression of PAK4 and P54 protein in breast cancer

BACKGROUND Previous evidence have demonstrated that p21-activated kinase PAK4 was correlated with breast cancer. The aim of this paper is to study the expression and interaction of p21-activated kinase (pAK)-4 and P54 protein in breast cancer. METHODS A total of 80 patients were enrolled in our study (breast fibroma n = 20, breast noninvasive cancer n = 20, early breast invasive cancer n = 20, and advanced breast invasive cancer). The expression of PAK4 was detected by immunohistochemical S-P method, and the relationship between them and the different pathological characteristics were compared. The subcellular localization of P54 and PAK4 in vitro was observed by immunofluorescence assay. RESULTS The expression of both PAK4 and P54 in breast cancer was much higher than that in breast fibroma. Meanwhile, we found that both PAK4 and P54 increased gradually as breast cancer progressed (advanced invasive > early invasive > noninvasive). The positive staining of P54 were mainly located in the cytoplasm, especially around the nucleus. There was no significant stained region in the cell matrix. The P54 localization in the cytoplasm was verified by confocal experiment, and the PAK4 was co-localized. CONCLUSIONS PAK4 and P54 proteins may be used as molecular markers for diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.