Par genes: molecular probes to pathological assessment in breast cancer progression.

Taking the issue of tumor categorization a step forward and establish molecular imprints to accompany histopathological assessment is a challenging task. This is important since often patients with similar clinical and pathological tumors may respond differently to a given treatment. Protease-activated receptor-(1) (PAR(1)), a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), is the first member of the mammalian PAR family consisting of four genes. PAR(1) and PAR(2) play a central role in breast cancer. The release of N-terminal peptides during activation and the exposure of a cryptic internal ligand in PARs, endow these receptors with the opportunity to serve as a "mirror-image" index reflecting the level of cell surface PAR(1&2)-in body fluids. It is possible to use the levels of PAR-released peptide in patients and accordingly determine the choice of treatment. We have both identified PAR(1) C-tail as a scaffold site for the immobilization of signaling partners, and the critical minimal binding site. This binding region may be used for future therapeutic modalities in breast cancer, since abrogation of the binding inhibits PAR(1) induced breast cancer. Altogether, both PAR(1) and PAR(2) may serve as molecular probes for breast cancer diagnosis and valuable targets for therapy.