Enhancer of the rudimentary gene homologue (ERH) expression pattern in sporadic human breast cancer and normal breast tissue

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The human gene <it>ERH </it>(Enhancer of the Rudimentary gene Homologue) has previously been identified by <it>in silico </it>analysis of four million ESTs as a gene differentially expressed in breast cancer. The biological function of ERH protein has not been fully elucidated, however functions in cell cycle progression, pyrimidine metabolism a possible interaction with p21(Cip1/Waf1) via the Ciz1 zinc finger protein have been suggested. The aim of the present study was a systematic characterization of <it>ERH </it>expression in human breast cancer in order to evaluate possible clinical applications of this molecule.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The expression pattern of <it>ERH </it>was analyzed using multiple tissue northern blots (MTN) on a panel of 16 normal human tissues and two sets of malignant/normal breast and ovarian tissue samples. <it>ERH </it>expression was further analyzed in breast cancer and normal breast tissues and in tumorigenic as well as non-tumorigenic breast cancer cell lines, using quantitative RT-PCR and non-radioisotopic <it>in situ </it>hybridization (ISH).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among normal human tissues, <it>ERH </it>expression was most abundant in testis, heart, ovary, prostate, and liver. In the two MTN sets of malignant/normal breast and ovarian tissue,<it>ERH </it>was clearly more abundantly expressed in all tumours than in normal tissue samples. Quantitative RT-PCR analyses showed that <it>ERH </it>expression was significantly more abundant in tumorigenic than in non-tumorigenic breast cancer cell lines (4.5-fold; p = 0.05, two-tailed Mann-Whitney U-test); the same trend was noted in a set of 25 primary invasive breast cancers and 16 normal breast tissue samples (2.5-fold; p = 0.1). These findings were further confirmed by non-radioisotopic ISH in human breast cancer and normal breast tissue.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><it>ERH </it>expression is clearly up-regulated in malignant as compared with benign breast cells both in primary human breast cancer and in cell models of breast cancer. Since similar results were obtained for ovarian cancer, ERH overexpression may be implicated in the initiation and/or progression of certain human malignancies. Further studies on large breast cancer tissue cohorts should determine whether ERH could function as a prognostic factor or even a drug target in the treatment of human breast cancer.</p

Enhancer of the rudimentary gene homologue () expression pattern in sporadic human breast cancer and normal breast tissue-5

Aining 11 tissues tested. The human transcript is approximately 1.2 kb in size.<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Enhancer of the rudimentary gene homologue () expression pattern in sporadic human breast cancer and normal breast tissue"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2407/8/145</p><p>BMC Cancer 2008;8():145-145.</p><p>Published online 23 May 2008</p><p>PMCID:PMC2426700.</p><p></p

Enhancer of the rudimentary gene homologue () expression pattern in sporadic human breast cancer and normal breast tissue-4

Serves as negative control for the specificity of the antisense probe. C, F, I: Hematoxylin-eosin staining of consecutive sections shown in ISH. mRNA was clearly detectable in epithelial cells from invasive breast cancer (D, G), while a less abundant ERH mRNA expression could be detected in epithelial cells of normal breast tissue (A).<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Enhancer of the rudimentary gene homologue () expression pattern in sporadic human breast cancer and normal breast tissue"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2407/8/145</p><p>BMC Cancer 2008;8():145-145.</p><p>Published online 23 May 2008</p><p>PMCID:PMC2426700.</p><p></p

Passive transfer models of myasthenia gravis with muscle-specific kinase antibodies

Neurological Motor DisordersParoxysmal Cerebral Disorder