Intratumor cholesteryl ester accumulation is associated with human breast cancer proliferation and aggressive potential: a molecular and clinicopathological study

BACKGROUND: The metabolic effect of intratumor cholesteryl ester (CE) in breast cancer remains poorly understood. The objective was to analyze the relationship between intratumor CE content and clinicopathological variables in human breast carcinomas. METHODS: We classified 30 breast carcinoma samples into three subgroups: 10 luminal-A tumors (ER+/PR+/Her2-), 10 Her-2 tumors (ER-/PR-/Her2+), and 10 triple negative (TN) tumors (ER-/PR-/Her2-). We analyzed intratumor neutral CE, free cholesterol (FC) and triglyceride (TG) content by thin layer chromatography after lipid extraction. RNA and protein levels of lipid metabolism and invasion mediators were analyzed by real time PCR and Western blot analysis. RESULTS: Group-wise comparisons, linear regression and logistic regression models showed a close association between CE-rich tumors and higher histologic grade, Ki-67 and tumor necrosis. CE-rich tumors displayed higher mRNA and protein levels of low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) and scavenger receptor class B member 1 (SCARB1). An increased expression of acetyl-Coenzyme A acetyltransferase 1 (ACAT1) in CE-rich tumors was also reported. CONCLUSIONS: Intratumor CE accumulation is intimately linked to proliferation and aggressive potential of breast cancer tumors. Our data support the link between intratumor CE content and poor clinical outcome and open the door to new antitumor interventions. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-015-1469-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.