HOXB5 promotes the progression of breast cancer through wnt/ beta-catenin pathway

Objective: The present study was designed to explore the function of HOXB5 in breast cancer and related signaling pathway. Methods: Breast cancer tissues and non-cancerous tissues were collected from 82 cases who were pathologically diagnosed with breast cancer. The mRNA level of HOXB5 was detected via quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Chi-square test was adopted to analyze the association of HOXB5 with clinical features. The viability, migration and invasion of breast cancer cells were detected through MTT and Transwell assays, respectively. Protein analysis was performed adopting western blot analysis. Results: HOXB5 expression was increased in breast cancer tissues and cells, and showed positive correlation with tumor size (P = 0.028), TNM stage (P = 0.048), and lymph node metastasis (P = 0.002). Losing HOXB5 expression suppressed clone formation, proliferation, migration and invasion of breast cancer cells. The knockdown of HOXB5 significantly inactivated wnt/beta-catenin pathway. Furthermore, wnt/beta-catenin pathway had the potential to neutralize the oncogenic function of HOXB5 in breast cancer. Conclusion: HOXB5 may be involved in the invasive progression of breast cancer. The function of HOXB5 in breast cancer was mediated by wnt/beta-catenin pathway.