Abstract

Background: Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive (HER2+) breast cancer (BC), which accounts for approximately one-fifth of all BCs, are highly invasive with a high rate of recurrence and a poor prognosis. Several studies have shown that growth factor receptor-bound protein 7 (GRB7) might be a potential therapeutic target for tumor diagnosis and prognosis. Nevertheless, the role of GRB7 in HER2+?BC and its underlying mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to investigate the biological function and regulatory mechanism of GRB7 in HER2+?BC.

Methods: Bioinformatics analysis was performed using the TCGA, GEO and CancerSEA databases to evaluate the clinical significance of GRB7. RT quantitative PCR, western blot and immunofluorescence were conducted to assess the expression of GRB7 in BC cell lines and tissues. MTT, EdU, colony formation, wound healing, transwell, and xenograft assays were adopted to explore the biological function of GRB7 in HER2+?BC. RNA sequencing was performed to analyze the signaling pathways associated with GRB7 in SK-BR-3 cells after the cells were transfected with GRB7 siRNA. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis (ChIP) and luciferase reporter assay were employed to elucidate the potential molecular regulatory mechanisms of GRB7 in HER2+?BC.

Results: GRB7 was markedly upregulated and associated with poor prognosis in BC, especially in HER2+?BC. Overexpression of GRB7 increased the proliferation, migration, invasion, and colony formation of HER2+?BC cells, while depletion of GRB7 had the opposite effects in HER2+?BC cells and inhibited xenograft growth. ChIP-PCR and luciferase reporter assay revealed that TCF12 directly bound to the promoter of the GRB7 gene to promote its transcription. GRB7 facilitated HER2+?BC epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) progression by interacting with Notch1 to activate Wnt/β-catenin pathways and other signaling (i.e., AKT, ERK). Moreover, forced GRB7 overexpression activated Wnt/β-catenin to promote EMT progression, and partially rescued the inhibition of HER2+?BC proliferation, migration and invasion induced by TCF12 silencing.

Conclusions: Our work elucidates the oncogenic role of GRB7 in HER2+?BC, which could serve as a prognostic indicator and promising therapeutic target.