As a preeminent contract research company, Creative Biolabs offers high-quality in vitro diagnostic (IVD) antibody & immunoassay development services. Especially, with our versatile IVD platform, we are proud to offer customized services to develop immunoassays from scratch to commercial IVD kits targeting PgR (progesterone receptor), a diagnostic biomarker of breast cancer.
The steroid hormone receptor PgR is one of the superfamilies of nuclear hormone receptor. PgR is located in cytoplasm and functions as a transcription factor regulating target genes expression. After binding with its ligand progesterone, PgR dimerization occurs and moves to the nuclear followed by binding to the special DNA site promoting gene transcription. PgR has two main isoforms PR-A and PR-B encoded by the PGR gene. A truncated form of PR-B is PR-A, and the forms act as different roles in physiological conditions or cancer conditions. PR-B is mainly associated with the development of the mammary gland, whereas PR-A is mainly overexpressed in breast cancer.
Fig.1 Progesterone receptor action in endometrial stromal cells gave rise to decidualization.1
Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor affecting nearly 12% of women worldwide especially in advanced countries due to the modern lifestyles. Breast cancer is easy to be diagnosed with microscope analysis and mammography. However, breast cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease encompassing multiple histological subtypes, luminal A, luminal B, triple-negative/basal-like, HER2-enriched, and normal-like breast cancer. Among these subtypes, triple-negative breast cancer is characterized by estrogen-receptor (ER)/progesterone-receptor (PgR) negative and HER2 negative. And the three important receptors on the surface or in the cytosol and nucleus of cancer cells can promote the growth of breast cancer, thus play a curial role in the treatment and prognosis of breast cancer.
Functionally, PgR plays an important role in a variety of cellular activities such as cell growth and apoptosis, steroid and lipid metabolism, transcription. And, the expression of PgR gene is regulated by estrogen in breast cancer. Thus, breast cancer can be classified into four subtypes: ER+/PR+, ER+/PR-, ER-/PR+, ER-/PR- depending on the expression of PgR and ER of breast cancer. 65% to 75% of breast cancers are PgR positive cancers. It has been reported that endocrine therapy (tamoxifen therapy) has a limited effect on ER+/PgR- breast cancers than those with high levels of PgR. Also, PgR levels have a significant decline during endocrine therapy, while ER levels do not. Patients with a deficiency of PgR are considered to suffer a more aggressive disease and worse total survival. Based on these, the PgR test will underline the treatment prescription and provide help in evaluating the prognosis.
At Creative Biolabs, we offer a full range of antibody development, antigen & antibody conjugation, and IVD immunoassay development services to clients across the globe. Our expertise lies in different stages of the immunoassay development process and different immunoassay technology platforms, including ELISAs, lateral flow immunochromatographic assays, immuno-PCR, etc. Please click the links below for more information:
Please feel free to contact us for more information and discuss your project needs.
Reference
For Research Use Only.
