Adiponectin and adiponectin receptor 1 expression proteins levels are modified in breast cancer in postmenopausal women with obesity

Aim To analyse the expression of adiponectin (ADIPOQ), and its receptors ADIPOR1 and ADIPOR2, in breast cancer tissue of postmenopausal women with different body mass indexes (BMIs). Subjects and methods One hundred and fifty postmenopausal Mexican-Mestizo women with breast cancer were included. BMI was determined in each case. To carry out qualitative and semiquantitative assessments of protein expression by immunohistochemistry, the H-Score method was used, through ImageJ's IHC Profiler software. Statistical power of the study was >80% with a p<0.05. Results Fifty women had a normal BMI, 50 presented overweight and 50 had obesity. The expression of ADIPOQ in breast cancer tissue of postmenopausal woman with normal BMI was higher in comparison to women with overweight or with obesity (p=0.002 and p<0.001, respectively). Furthermore, the expression of ADIPOR1 in breast cancer tissue of postmenopausal women with normal BMI was significantly lower when compared with women with overweight or with obesity (p=0.005 and p<0.001, respectively). Meanwhile, the expression of ADIPOR2 in breast cancer tissue, in the cytoplasm, was similar in all groups studied. Conclusions We found that women with overweight or obesity had a lower expression of ADIPOQ and a higher ADIPOR1 expression in breast cancer tissue, when compared with women with a normal BMI.