Fat cells in breast cancer microenvironment: NCoA3 coactivator, a key molecule to understand adipocyte behavior

LIRA, M C; SOARES MACHADO M; BURLANDO S; COSTAS M A; ROSA, F D; SALAZAR GUEMES M C; AZURMENDI P; RUBIO M F; AIELLO, I; PAZ L.; PALADINO, N

Congreso; AACR Annual Meeting 2020; 2020

Nuclear receptor Coactivator 3 (NCoA3) is a member of p160 family of transcriptional coactivators. It is present at low levels in normal cells and it is amplified or overexpressed in several types of cancer. Its oncogenic role is widely studied in breast tumors, however, its function is still unknown in the microenvironment. Adipocytes account for the largest proportion among the cells that comprise mammary gland and are considered to be a critical cell type in the tumor context of breast cancer. Since we have previously demonstrated that NCoA3 decreases during adipogenesis, we aimed to study its expression in cancer associated-adipocytes. Breast tumor-surrounding adipose tissue (AT) samples were collected from female postmenopausal patients (n=31). NCoA3 mRNA and protein levels were measured, which allowed us to classify samples as high and normal expression according to levels in non-tumoral AT. Regarding tumoral features, there were more AT samples with high NCoA3 levels from patients with triple negative tumors and thus a worse prognosis, than from patients with luminal tumors (p