Figure 6. Schematic of the involvement of FUCA1 in the tumorigenic capacity of breast cancer cells.

Higher FUCA1 protein expression was detected in early-stage breast cancer tissues. Transient FUCA1 inhibition significantly arrested MDA-MB-231 cells in G0/G1 and induced autophagic cell death. Then, the cells with minimal levels of FUCA1 expression were selected, and these cells maintained malignant properties, such as cancer cell growth and metastasis. These effects are similar to the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition process by which epithelial cells inhibit cell-cell interactions and reorganize the cytoskeleton to acquire mesenchymal properties and enable migration to secondary sites.