Abstract
BACKGROUND: The Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway is commonly exploited for intercellular communication throughout development and organogenesis. Disruption of Hh signaling contributes to benign and malignant growth including breast cancer (BC). The distinct expression pattern of genes can be used as a sign of treatment efficacy and to make a new treatment plan. The present study was designed to evaluate the expression pattern of Hh signaling pathway genes such as Sonic Hedgehog (SHH), Smoothend (SMO), Glioma-associated Oncogene Homolog 1 (GLI1), and Patched 1 (PTCH1) in TNBC before and after chemotherapeutic treatment. METHODS: A total of 18 (eighteen) TNBC patients were included in this study. Expression of the Hh signaling pathway genes was measured in the TNBC patient's tumor tissue and blood sample before and after chemotherapy by qRT-PCR. GraphPad Prism was used to analyze the experimental data. RESULTS: SHH and SMO expression were found to increase in tissue samples of TNBC subtypes, whereas GLI1 and PTCH1 expression were decreased compared to adjacent noncancerous tissue. After chemotherapeutic treatment, upregulation was found for GLI1 and PTCH1 expression in blood samples when compared to the expression in blood samples of untreated-stage patients or healthy control group. Moreover, SHH and SMO expression were found to decrease compared to the untreated group. CONCLUSION: Upregulation of GLI1 and PTCH1 expression, with substantially decreased expression of SHH and SMO after the chemotherapeutic treatment may be associated with positive outcome of chemotherapy.