Dual-targeting Wnt and uPA receptors using peptide conjugated ultra-small nanoparticle drug carriers inhibited cancer stem-cell phenotype in chemo-resistant breast cancer.
Using an ARE-gene microarray, novel targets of TTP regulation were identified, namely, urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA), uPA receptor and matrix metalloproteinase-1, all known to have prominent roles in breast cancer invasion and metastasis.
Reverse transcription-PCR analysis revealed that this demethylation of the uPA promoter is directly associated with induction of uPA mRNA expression, which is well known to be associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer patients.
We conclude that uPA gene amplification is not a major mechanism instigating uPA overexpression in breast cancer, and that overexpression is likely to be controlled by other mechanisms.