CD47 functions as a dominant anti‑engulfment signal on tumour cells and is overexpressed in various malignant tumours. However, the expression and functional significance of CD47 in triple‑negative breast cancer (TNBC) is not completely understood. In the present study, CD47 was demonstrated to be overexpressed in TNBC solid tumours. Moreover, increased CD47 expression was significantly associated with an advanced tumour‑node‑metastasis stage, lymph node involvement and recurrence. Moreover, CD47 was an unfavourable and independent prognostic factor for 5‑year disease‑free survival in patients with TNBC. In addition, the expression of CD47 was associated with several markers of epithelial‑mesenchymal transition (EMT). The present study was the first to demonstrate an association between increased expression of CD47 with EMT and poor prognosis of TNBC. Thus, CD47 may be a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for TNBC.

Aims: To explore the clinical characteristics and placental pathological changes of pregnant women with 2019 novel coronavirus (CoV) disease (COVID-19) in the third trimester, and to assess the possibility of vertical transmission. Methods and results: The placenta tissues were evaluated by using immunohistochemistry for inflammatory cells and Hofbauer cells, and using severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) CoV-2 RNA Fluorescence In-Situ Hybridization (FISH) and SARS-CoV-2 spike protein immunofluorescence (IF) double staining. All eight placentas from the third trimester pregnancy women were studied. All patients were cured, no clinical or serological evidence pointed to vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Features of maternal vascular malperfusion (MVM) such as increased syncytial knots were present in all 8 cases (8/8), and increased focal perivillous fibrin depositions were presented in 7 cases (7/8). No significate chronic histiocytic intervillositis was noted in the placenta. The number of macrophages and inflammatory cells such as T cells, B cells and plasma cells in the placental villous was not significantly increased in all cases. Moreover, all of eight cases demonstrated negative results by FISH using a SARS-CoV-2 virus RNA probe and by IF using a monoclonal antibody against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Conclusions: We found no evidence of vertical transmission and adverse maternal-fetal outcomes in the placentas of third trimester COVID-19 pregnancy women, which provided further information for the clinical management of those women in the third trimester. However, further studies are still needed for patients with infections in different stage of gestation, especially in first and second trimester.

Background: Avoiding the phagocytosis by tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) is necessary for the growth and metastasis of solid tumors. CD47 binds to the receptor signal-regulatory protein-α (SIRP-α) on the macrophages to avoid normal phagocytosis. In this study, we evaluated the expression and prognostic significance of CD47 and CD68-labeled TAMs in breast cancer solid tumors. Methods: Two hundred seventeen cases of breast cancer tissues and 40 cases of benign breast lesions were collected for immunohistochemical staining of CD47 and CD68. Results: Both of the CD47 and CD68 expression were significantly higher in breast cancer tissues (P < 0.001), and associated with multiple clinicopathological parameters in breast cancer (P < 0.05). However, CD47 or CD68 expression alone was not an independent predictor of poor DFS in multivariate survival analysis (P > 0.05). Interestingly, combined high expression of CD47 and CD68 (CD47^highCD68^high) not only had a significant association with advanced TNM stage, histological grade, LNM, ER status, PR status and recurrence (P < 0.05), but also displayed a poorer 5-DFS (P = 0.011). Strikingly, CD47^highCD68^high served as a novel independent prognostic factor for poor DFS compared to the expression of CD47 or CD68 alone (P = 0.045). Furthermore, our study also showed for the first time that the prognostic significance of CD47^highCD68^high not only in breast cancer in general, but also in hormone receptor-negative breast cancer in particular. Conclusions: Combined detection of CD47 and CD68 may provide guidance for the prognosis of breast cancer, especially hormone receptor-negative breast cancer.

Immunotherapy plays a key role in cancer treatment, however, responses are limited to a small number of patients. The biological basis for the success of immunotherapy is the complex interaction between tumor cells and tumor immune microenvironment (TIME). Historically, research on tumor immune constitution was limited to the analysis of one or two markers, more novel technologies are needed to interpret the complex interactions between tumor cells and TIME. In recent years, major advances have already been made in depicting TIME at a considerably elevated degree of throughput, dimensionality and resolution, allowing dozens of markers to be labeled simultaneously, and analyzing the heterogeneity of tumour-immune infiltrates in detail at the single cell level, depicting the spatial landscape of the entire microenvironment, as well as applying artificial intelligence (AI) to interpret a large amount of complex data from TIME. In this review, we summarized emerging technologies that have made contributions to the field of TIME, and provided prospects for future research.

Background: Breast cancer, the most prevalent malignancy among women worldwide, exhibits significant heterogeneity, particularly in the tumor microenvironment (TME), which poses challenges for treatment. Spatial transcriptomics (ST) has emerged as a transformative technology, enabling gene expression analysis while preserving tissue spatial architecture. This provides unprecedented insights into tumor heterogeneity, cellular interactions, and disease mechanisms, offering a powerful tool for advancing breast cancer research and therapy. This review aims to synthesize the applications of ST in breast cancer research, focusing on its role in decoding tumor heterogeneity, characterizing the TME, elucidating progression and metastasis dynamics, and predicting therapeutic responses. We also explore how ST can bridge molecular profiling with clinical translation to enhance precision therapy. The key scientific concepts of review included the following: We summarize the technological advancements in ST, including imaging-based and sequencing-based methods, and their applications in breast cancer. Key findings highlight how ST resolves spatial heterogeneity across molecular subtypes and histological variants. ST reveals the dynamic interplay between tumor cells, immune cells, and stromal components, uncovering mechanisms of immune evasion, metabolic reprogramming, and therapeutic resistance. Additionally, ST identifies spatial prognostic markers and predicts responses to chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. We propose that ST serves as a hub for integrating multi-omics data, offering a roadmap for precision oncology and personalized treatment strategies in breast cancer.