Expression of LXR­ß, ABCA1 and ABCG1 in human triple­negative breast cancer tissues.

Previous studies have reported that liver X receptor (LXR), ATP­binding cassette sub­family G number 1 (ABCG1) and ATP­binding cassette transporter number 1 (ABCA1), which are associated with cholesterol metabolism, may be associated with the development and progression of breast cancer. The expression levels of LXR­ß, ABCA1 and ABCG1 in triple­negative breast cancer (TNBC) tissues and in non­cancerous mammary tissues were observed by immunohistochemistry, quantum dot­based immunohistochemistry, western blot analysis and reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The present study identified that the expression of ABCA1 in TNBC tissues was higher than that in non­cancerous mammary tissues. A high expression of ABCA1 in the TNBC tissues was significantly associated with the histological grade. However, no significant differences were identified between the expression levels of LXR­ß and ABCG1 in the TNBC tissues compared with the non­cancerous mammary tissues. Therefore, the findings of this study suggest that ABCA1 is a specific marker for TNBC.