Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28721365›Full record

ArticleNPJ breast cancer2015

Activin-A signaling promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition, invasion, and metastatic growth of breast cancer.

Mohsin Bashir, Surekha Damineni, Geetashree Mukherjee, Paturu Kondaiah

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in NPJ breast cancer, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 62 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
62citing papers in PubMed
3.0field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

62 citing papers in PubMed, 105 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Endogenous targeting lipid nanoparticles for systemic mRNA delivery to lung cancer tumors.Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society · 2026
    Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. INHBABMC cancer · 2025
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Article

2 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Mohsin BashirDepartment of Molecular Reproduction, Development and Genetics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
Surekha DamineniDepartment of Molecular Reproduction, Development and Genetics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
Geetashree MukherjeeDepartment of Pathology, Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bangalore, India.
Paturu KondaiahDepartment of Molecular Reproduction, Development and Genetics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
Indian Institute of Science Bangalore · INKidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology · IN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundActivins belong to the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily of cytokines. Although the role of TGF-β in cancer progression has been highly advocated, the role of activin signaling in cancer is not well known. However, overexpression of activin-A has been observed in several cancers.

aimsThe gene expression profile indicated higher expression of Activin-A in breast tumors. Hence the aim of this study was to evaluate the status and role of Activin signaling pathway in these tumors.

methodsMicroarray analysis was performed to reveal gene expression changes in breast tumors. The results were validated by quantitative PCR and immunohistochemical analysis in two independent sets of normal and tumor samples. Further, correlation of activin expression with survival and distant metastasis was performed to evaluate its possible role in tumor progression. We used recombinant activin-A, inhibitors, overexpression, and knockdown strategies both

resultsWe report that activin-A signaling is hyperactivated in breast cancers as indicated by higher activin-A, phosphoSMAD2, and phosphoSMAD3 levels in advanced breast cancers. Bone morphogenetic proteins and molecules involved in this signaling pathway were downregulated, suggesting its suppression in breast cancers. Activin-A expression correlates inversely with survival and metastasis in advanced breast cancers. Further, activin-A promotes anchorage-independent growth, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, invasion, angiogenesis, and stemness of breast cancer cells. We show that activin-A-induced phenotype is mediated by SMAD signaling pathway. In addition, activin-A expression affects the tumor-forming ability and metastatic colonization of cancer cells in nude mice.

conclusionsThese results suggest that activin-A has a critical role in breast cancer progression and, hence, targeting this pathway can be a valuable strategy in treating breast cancer patients.

Identifiers

PMID28721365
PMCPMC5515205
OpenAlexW2594167610

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.