Methods To evaluate CD83 expression in breast cancer, we retrieved 822 breast cancer and 572 normal tissue samples from TCGA. This dataset enabled analysis of CD83 expression differences in breast cancer. We also used Western blot to measure CD83 protein levels in MCF-10A (normal breast epithelial cells) and breast cancer cells (MCF-7, BT-549, MDA-MB-231) . This method facilitated direct CD83 protein level comparison between normal and cancerous breast cells, enhancing insights into CD83’s role in breast cancer. Using the CRISPR/Cas9, we established stable CD83 knockout MDA-MB-231 cell lines (sg-CD83-#1, sg-CD83-#2, sg-CD83-#3) and selected sg-CD83 for further study based on protein extraction and CD83 disruption efficiency. Functional assays including CCK-8, scratch wound healing, and Transwell were conducted on sg-CD83 versus sg-ctrl, sg-ctrl as the negative control for CD83 knockout. Co-IP was used to examine CD83-ITGB1 interactions. Establishment of MDA-MB-231 cell line overexpressing CD83 through plasmid transfection, and created an ov-CD83 group to study CD83 overexpression effects, assessing proliferation, migration, and invasion via scratch and Transwell assays against vector, which as a control for CD83 overexpression. The impact of ITGB1 on CD83 function was assessed by silencing ITGB1 in CD83-overexpressing cells, using the si-NC as a control for ITGB1 knockdown. Statistical analysis involved independent t-tests for intergroup comparisons and one-way ANOVA with LSD post hoc tests for multiple groups, ensuring robustness of findings.
Results TCGA database analysis revealed significant CD83 mRNA expression differences among breast cancer subtypes and normal tissue. CD83 levels were 4.63±0.79 in lunimal A subtype, 4.57±0.77 in luminal B subtype, 4.62±0.75 in HER-2 overexpression subtype and 5.40±1.13 in TNBC subtype and 3.30±1.17 in normal tissue. Statistical analysis showed highly significant differences (F=196.802, P<0.001) , with TNBC showing notably higher CD83 expression than other subtypes (P<0.001) . This suggests CD83’s potential as a TNBC biomarker and therapeutic target, highlighting the need for further functional studies in this breast cancer subtype. The protein expression levels of CD83 in MCF-10A, MCF-7, BT-549, and MDA-MB-231 cells were 1.00±0.01, 1.44±0.02, 1.71±0.02, and 1.89±0.07, respectively, showing statistical significance (F=353.070, P<0.001) . The sg-CD83-#3 group showed the best CD83 knockout efficiency. Thus, it was selected as the CD83 knockout model (sg-CD83) for further experiments. The protein expression of CD83 in MDA-MB-231 cells in the four groups of sg-ctrl, sg-CD83-#1, sg-CD83-#2, and sg-CD83-#3 were 1.00±0.02, 0.79±0.18, 0.32±0.03, and 0.23±0.05, respectively, with statistical significance (F=48.758, P<0.001) . The absorbance at 450 nm for the sg-ctrl group and the sg-CD83 group at 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours was as follows: 0.63±0.05 vs 0.51±0.03, 0.92±0.03 vs 0.70±0.06, 1.27±0.02 vs 0.90±0.09, and 1.54±0.14 vs 1.06±0.09. These differences were statistically significant (all P<0.050) . The apoptosis rates in the sg-ctrl group and sg-CD83 group were [ (5.96±0.06) % vs (12.82±0.07) %, (t=-128.877, P<0.001) ], the G0/G1 phase cell ratio was [ (31.87±0.76) % vs (44.75±1.50) %, (t=-13.229, P<0.001) ]; There were statistically significant differences in cell scratch healing rate [ (34.47±0.87) % vs (16.63±0.70) %, (t=27.554, P<0.001) ], the number of migrating cells (143.67±4.16 vs 62.67±1.53, t=31.636, P<0.001) , and the number of invasive cells (123.67±3.06 vs 26.33±2.52, t=42.593, P<0.001) . The expression levels of ITGB1 were 1.00±0.02 in the sg-ctrl group and 0.34±0.02 in the sg-CD83 group, showing statistical significance (t=40.417, P<0.001) . Similarly, FAK expression was 1.00±0.01 in the sg-ctrl group and 0.79±0.07 in the sg-CD83 group (t=5.144, P=0.033) . The p-FAK levels were 0.99±0.03 and 0.35±0.05, respectively, with a statistically significant difference (t=19.395, P<0.001) . In the co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) assay, CD83 and ITGB1 were co-precipitated. There were statistically significant differences in scratch wound healing rates [ (8.40±2.73) % vs (45.08±1.51) %, t=-20.340, P<0.001], migratory cell counts (151.00±2.65 vs 337.67±3.51, t=-73.532, P<0.001) , and invasive cell counts (120.33±4.16 vs 288.67±4.51, t=-47.506, P<0.001] between the vector group and ov-CD83 group. There were statistically significant differences in scratch wound healing rates [ (44.63±2.11) % vs (13.93±2.90) %, t=14.839, P<0.001], migratory cell counts (339.67±3.06 vs 181.67±2.31, t=71.458, P<0.001) , and invasive cell counts (289.00±5.29 vs 170.33±5.03, t=28.144, P<0.001) between the si-NC group and si-ITGB1 group.