Expression and significance of Hsp70,Fas and FasL in breast cancer

Objective To evaluate the altered expression of Hsp70,Fas and FasL in breast cancer and their role in the occurrence and progression of breast cancer.Methods The expression of Hsp70,Fas and FasL was analyzed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Western blot in 30 cases of breast cancer.The DNA index (DI) and apoptosis index (AI) of breast cancer cells were analyzed by the flow cytometry (FCM).Results The rates of expression of Hsp70,Fas and FasL in the breast carcinoma tissue and the surrounding non-cancerous tissue were 93.3%,60.0%;53.3%,96.7%;93.3%,63.3% respectively. The difference between the breast carcinoma tissue and the surrounding non-cancerous tissue was significant. The level of expression of Fas was low in breast carcinoma tissue, nevertheless,it was very high in the surrounding non-cancerous tissue.The levels of expression of Hsp70 and FasL were high in breast carcinoma tissue,while they were low in the surrounding non-cancerous tissue.The DI of breast carcinoma tissue and the surrounding non-cancerous tissue was 1.29±0.16 and 0.99±0.44 respectively(t=9.974,P=0.000);the AI was 7.23±0.55 and 9.99±0.52 respectively(t=11.56,P=~0.000 );the differences were statistically significant.Conclusion The level of expression of Fas is low in breast cancer,while that of Hsp70 and FasL is high.The degree of apoptosis in breast cancer is significantly lower than that in the surrounding non-cancerous tissue. The down-regulation of Fas and the up-regulation of Hsp70 and FasL may facilitate the progression of breast cancer.