NLRP1 Overexpression Is Correlated with the Tumorigenesis and Proliferation of Human Breast Tumor

Recent studies suggest that nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat protein 1 (NLRP1) is a pivotal factor in the inflammatory process. However, the role of NLRP1 in breast cancer pathogenesis remains unclear. The aim of this study was to examine the expression and function of NLRP1 in breast cancer. We found that NLRP1 was widely expressed in 83% (60/72) of primary breast cancer tissue. NLRP1 expression level was higher in primary breast cancer tissue than in adjacent noncancerous tissue (p<0.001) and NLRP1 expression was associated with lymph node metastasis (p=0.003), TNM stage (p=0.003), and Ki-67 levels (p<0.001). Overexpression of NLRP1 in the breast cancer cell line MCF-7 promotes proliferation, migration, invasion, and tumorigenicity in nude mice. Restoration of NLRP1 expression resulted in the EMT occurrence that downregulation of epithelial marker E-cadherin and upregulation mesenchymal marker vimentin, C-myc, MMP-9, and snail. In summary, NLRP1 promotes cell line MCF-7 the proliferation, migration, and invasion through inducing EMT.