Visit our Expo - Redox and Inflammation signaling 2012

Session III : Protein kinase cascades as therapeutic targets Poster III,
The mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) p38 and JNK are markers of tumor
progression in breast carcinoma
Ben Davidson1, Sophya Konstantinovsky2, Lilach Kleinberg1, Mai TP. Nguyen1, Assia
Bassarova1, Gunnar Kvalheim3, Jahn M. Nesland1, Reuven Reich2
Departments of Pathology1 and Oncology3, the National Hospital-Norwegian Radium
Hospital, University of Oslo, Montebello N-0310 Oslo, Norway
2 Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Pharmacy,
Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
E-mail: ben.davidson@radiumhospitalet.no; sophya@md.huji.ac.il;
lilachkl@odont.uio.no; assia.bassarova@radiumhospitalet.no;
gunnar.kvalheim@klinmed.uio.no; j.m.nesland@medisin.uio.no; reich@cc.huji.ac.il
The objective of this study was to investigate the activation of mitogen-activated protein
kinases (MAPK) in breast carcinoma effusions, and to analyze its relationship to anatomic site
and clinical parameters. Activated MAPK (p-ERK, p-JNK and p-p38) expression was studied
in 42 effusions and 51 corresponding solid tumors (23 primary, 28 metastases) using
immunohistochemistry. Hormone receptor and HER2 status, proliferation (Ki-67) and
apoptosis (p85-PARP fragment) were assessed. MAPK levels, activity and activation ratio
(phospho/pan-MAPK ratio) were analyzed in 19 effusions using Western blotting (WB).
Nuclear expression of p-p38 and p-JNK was significantly higher in effusions compared with
both primary tumors (p