Contribution of Biofloc System on Growth Performance and Feed Utilization of Tilapia Reared in High Salinity Media

Breast cancer (BC) is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality in women.Early detection based on genetic and epigenetic biomarkers significantly improved the survival rates of BC.In this study, we investigated the epigenetic regulation and tumor suppressor role of a novel gene, hepatic leukaemia factor (HLF), in the development of BC and explored its potential use as a biomarker for BC diagnosis.Analysis of 50 paired breast tissue samples and two BC cell lines revealed significant downregulation of HLF in tumor tissues (P<0.0001) and cells compared to normal counterparts.Targeted CpG sites in the HLF promoter demonstrated hypermethylation in 70% of tumor samples (35/50).Whereas, 58% of tumor tissues exhibited concurrent hypermethylation and downregulation (P=0.03).In-silico analysis of samples from the TCGA-BRCA database also verified these findings.In-vitro demethylation assay confirmed the epigenetic silencing of HLF, as demethylation restored its expression in BC cells.Functional studies using ectopic expression of HLF in BC cell lines revealed tumour-suppressive properties, including reduced proliferation, invasiveness, migration, and enhanced DNA damage.This study convincingly identified HLF as a novel epigenetically silenced tumor suppressor gene and diagnostic biomarker in BC, providing preliminary evidence of its potential as a target for innovative diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for improving patient outcomes.