Abstract
BACKGROUND: Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have a lower risk of breast cancer (BRCA) than the general population. In this study, we explored the underlying molecular mechanism that is dysregulated in both diseases. METHODS: Weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) was executed with the SLE and BRCA datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) website and identified the potential role of membrane metalloendopeptidase (MME) in both diseases. Then, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses of related proteins and miRNAs were performed to investigate the potential molecular pathways. RESULTS: WGCNA revealed that MME was positively related to SLE but negatively related to BRCA. In BRCA, MME expression was significantly decreased in tumor tissues, especially in luminal B and infiltrating ductal carcinoma subtypes. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis identified MME as a valuable diagnostic biomarker of BRCA, with an area under the curve (AUC) value equal to 0.984 (95% confidence interval = 0.976-0.992). KEGG enrichment analysis suggested that MME-related proteins and targeted miRNAs may reduce the incidence of BRCA in SLE patients via the PI3K/AKT/FOXO signaling pathway. Low MME expression was associated with favorable relapse-free survival (RFS) but no other clinical outcomes and may contribute to resistance to chemotherapy in BRCA, with an AUC equal to 0.527 (P value < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In summary, MME expression was significantly decreased in BRCA but positively correlated with SLE, and it might reduce the incidence of BRCA in SLE patients via the PI3K/AKT/FOXO signaling pathway.