Low levels of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) have been reported in the circulation of patients with breast cancer, particularly in metastatic features. Our objective was to study the correlation between plasma levels of CoQ10 and the tumoral expression levels of AMPK, PFKFB3, VEGF, and VEGFR2. This study was a part of consecutive case series conducted on 100 women with newly diagnosed invasive ductal breast carcinoma, with an age range of 30-60 years. Plasma levels of CoQ10 were measured using HPLC coupled to an UV detector. The expression levels were quantified using quantitative real-time PCR. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to generate pathways describing gene-to-gene inter-correlations. Using SEM identified AMPK expression to contribute positively to VEGF-A/VEGFR2 ratio (coefficient b = 0.64, P < 0.001). The VEGFR2 expression positively correlated with tumor size (coefficient b = 0.31, P < 0.001). A linear correlation between expression levels of AMPK and PFKFB3 was observed (rAdj =  - 0.273, P = 0.02). Similarly, VEGF-A was correlated with VEGFR2 (rAdj = 0.698, P < 0.001). There were inverse significant correlations between CoQ10 and the fold changes of AMPK (rAdj =  - 0.276, P = 0.030), VEGF-A (rAdj =  - 0.319, P = 0.011) and VEGFR2 (rAdj =  - 0.262, P = 0.045). The correlation between CoQ10 and the fold changes of PFKFB3 was significantly progesterone receptor (PR) dependent (rAdj =  - 0.284, P = 0.041). Plasma CoQ10 was correlated with VEGF-A in hormone receptor-dependent mode (ER + : rAdj =  - 0.286, P = 0.032 and PR + : rAdj =  - 0.313, P = 0.025). Our findings could provide new insights suggesting CoQ10 can inversely correlate to the expression levels of VEGF-A/VEGFR2 as angiogenic factors and AMPK/PFKFB3 as biomarkers for tumoral glycolysis, especially in a hormone receptor-dependent manner to possibly prevent the progression of breast carcinogenesis.

中文翻译：

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辅酶Q10与代谢相关的AMPK / PFKFB3和血管生成的VEGF / VEGFR2基因在乳腺癌患者中相关。

据报道，乳腺癌患者的血液循环中辅酶Q10（CoQ10）的含量较低，尤其是在转移特征方面。我们的目的是研究血浆辅酶Q10与AMPK，PFKFB3，VEGF和VEGFR2肿瘤表达水平之间的相关性。该研究是连续病例系列研究的一部分，该系列研究针对100位年龄在30至60岁之间的新诊断为浸润性导管癌的女性进行。辅酶Q10的血浆水平是使用与紫外检测器相连的HPLC测量的。使用定量实时PCR定量表达水平。应用结构方程模型（SEM）生成描述基因与基因相互关系的途径。使用SEM鉴定AMPK表达对VEGF-A / VEGFR2比率有正向贡献（系数b = 0.64，P <0.001）。VEGFR2表达与肿瘤大小呈正相关（系数b = 0.31，P <0.001）。观察到AMPK和PFKFB3的表达水平之间存在线性相关性（rAdj =-0.273，P = 0.02）。同样，VEGF-A与VEGFR2相关（rAdj = 0.698，P <0.001）。CoQ10与AMPK（rAdj =-0.276，P = 0.030），VEGF-A（rAdj =-0.319，P = 0.011）和VEGFR2（rAdj =-0.262，P = 0.045）的倍数变化之间呈负相关。辅酶Q10与PFKFB3倍数变化之间的相关性显着依赖于孕激素受体（PR）（rAdj =-0.284，P = 0.041）。血浆辅酶Q10在激素受体依赖性模式下与VEGF-A相关（ER +：rAdj =-0.286，P = 0.032和PR +：rAdj =-0.313，P = 0.025）。