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Breast Cancer Metastasis Alters Acetylcholinesterase Activity and the Composition of Enzyme Forms in Axillary Lymph Nodes

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Abstract

Because of the probable involvement of cholinesterases (ChEs) in tumorigenesis, this research was addressed to ascertaining whether breast cancer metastasis alters the content of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and/or butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) in axillary lymph nodes (LN). ChE activity was assayed in nine normal (NLN) and seven metastasis-bearing nodes (MLN) from women. AChE and BuChE forms were characterised by sedimentation analyses, hydrophobic chromatography and western blotting. The origin of ChEs in LN was studied by lectin interaction. AChE activity dropped from 21.6 mU/mg (nmol of the substrate hydrolysed per minute and per milligram protein) in NLN to 3.8 mU/mg in MLN (p < 0.001), while BuChE activity (3.6 mU/mg) was little affected. NLN contained globular amphiphilic AChE dimers (G2 A, 35%), monomers (G2 A, 30%), hydrophilic tetramers (G4 H, 8%), and asymmetric species (A4, 23%, and A8, 4%); MLN displayed only G2 A (65%) and G2 A (35%) AChE forms. NLN and MLN contained G4 H (79%), G4 A (7%), and G1 H (14%) BuChE components. Neither the binding of ChE forms with lectins and antibodies nor the subunit size were altered by metastasis. The higher level of AChE in NLN than in brain and the specific pattern of AChE forms in NLN support its role in immunity. The different profile of AChE forms in NLN and MLN may be useful for diagnosis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular-A, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain

    Francisco Ruiz-Espejo, Juan Cabezas-Herrera, Francisco J. Campoy, Encarnación Muñoz-Delgado & Cecilio J. Vidal

  2. Servicio de Análisis Clínicos, Hospital Virgen de la Arrixaca, Murcia, Spain

    Francisco Ruiz-Espejo

  3. Servicio de Análisis Clínicos, Hospital Virgen de la Arrixaca, Murcia, Spain

    Julián Illana

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  1. Francisco Ruiz-Espejo
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  2. Juan Cabezas-Herrera
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  3. Julián Illana
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  4. Francisco J. Campoy
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  5. Encarnación Muñoz-Delgado
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  6. Cecilio J. Vidal
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Ruiz-Espejo, F., Cabezas-Herrera, J., Illana, J. et al. Breast Cancer Metastasis Alters Acetylcholinesterase Activity and the Composition of Enzyme Forms in Axillary Lymph Nodes. Breast Cancer Res Treat 80, 105–114 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024461108704

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