Clinical samples from patients
Jingzhou Central Hospital collected 10 paired cases of breast cancer tissues and paracarcinoma tissues from June 2023 to December 2023.The samples were stored in a negative 80 degree Celsius environment. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants after approval by the Ethics Committee at Jingzhou Central Hospital. All procedures were conducted in accordance with the ethical principles of the “Declaration of Helsinki”. Informed consent by the study participant or a legally authorized representative was given prior to inclusion in the study.
Survival analysis in the TCGA database
Based on the levels of SYNGR4 expression, breast cancer samples from the TCGA dataset were divided into groups with high and low expression. Kaplan-Meier plots were used to analyze the prognostic variances of these two groups. Functional enrichment analysis
We identified 1290 genes correlated with SYNG4 co-expression in BC using the clusterProfiler package in the R software (|FoldChange| > 1.5 and P <0.05). On the basis of the 1482 genes associated with the prognosis of BC, GO/KEGG pathway analysis was performed on the 104 genes, followed by visualization using Graphpad Prism.
Cell Culture and Treatment:
The cell lines SKBR3, MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, and MCF-10A were acquired from the Wuhan Institute of Cell Biology in Wuhan, China. A ThermoFisher incubator was maintained at 37°C with 5% CO2.When STR analysis is performed on a database, every acquired cell line can be identified.
Pathological Sample Processing:
Tumors and surrounding tissues were exposed to a 10% formalin solution, then encased in paraffin, sliced into 5 mm sections, and underwent dewaxing, rehydration, and microwaving. Following a 30-minute incubation at 1°C, the samples were treated with SYNGR4 antibody from Thermofisher Scientific (PA5-20879) at room temperature. Subsequently, the secondary antibodies were labeled with DAB substrate and hematoxylin.
RNA Extraction and qRT-PCR:
Total RNA was isolated using TRIzol reagent with SYNGR4 and GAPDH primers purchased from Tsingke Biotech. The primer sequences for SYNGR4 were as follows: forward ACCGACGGCTACCAGAACA and reverse GAGCTGGAAGGCTGTCTTGA.PCR was performed 40 times at 95°C for 5 minutes, then normalized to the internal control and analyzed using a 2-ΔΔCT approach.
CCK8 Assay:
was determined using an enzyme marker at 450 nm. After digesting the cells, they were resuspended in full culture media, and cell growth was determined Optical density using the CCK-8 assay at 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours.
Colony-Formation Assay:
6-well plates were inoculated with a total of 5,000 cells. Following fixation in 4% polyacetal for 10 minutes, colonies were dyed with crystal violet. Photographs and tallies of colonies were taken.
Transwell Assay:
Using a transwell chamber from Corning in the USA, 20,000 cells were removed from the upper surface after incubating for 24 hours at 37°C. Subsequently, the cells were stained with crystal violet for 10 minutes, followed by counting and imaging of the migrating cells.
scratch test:
IBIDI dual-well culture inserts were placed in 24-well plates with SKBR3, MCF-7, and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and incubated for 24 hours. The inserts were carefully extracted from the pristine surface using forceps, then 1mL of low serum media was added to each well. The wells were then observed under a light microscope on days 0 and 1 following insert removal.
Tumor Xenograft:
Each group consists of twelve female nude mice without thymus, aged 8 weeks with an average weight of 25 grams. A total of one thousand cells were subcutaneously implanted into the lateral abdomen, each group containing 12 mice. On every other day, the xenografts were measured to determine their ultimate size. The ultimate size was calculated as V = 0.5 × L (tumor length) × W2 (tumor width). We observed every nude mouse for 20 days before giving them anesthesia until they died, then removing their tumors and weighing them. All procedures were conducted in compliance with the guidelines approved by the Animal Care Committee of Jingzhou Central Hospital (Approval Numbers: JZ2023199) and were performed in accordance with ARRIVE guidelines.
Immune Cell Infiltration:
Immune cell infiltration in BC was analyzed with the GSVA package in R, and the results were generated with the ssGSEA package. In TCGA-BRCA samples corresponding to high or low immunity cells infiltration, SYNGR4 expression was determined by categorizing 24 immune cells and consulting previous research.
Immunofluorescence microscopy:
DAPI staining and paraformaldehyde exposure for 15 minutes enabled the identification of actin and nuclei in cells. After staining the cells, they were examined under fluorescence microscopy.
ELISA:
In a coculture of BC cells and macrophages, levels of specific cytokines were measured by ELISA in the culture medium obtained from the lower chamber. We calculated the 450 nm absorbance using an enzyme marker and expressed it in picograms per milliliter using a standard curve.
Human and animal rights:
The protocol of animal and human samples study was approved by Ethics Committee of Jingzhou Central Hospital affiliated to Yangtze University (approval no. JZ2023199).