PIK3CA exon 20 mutations are associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer patients.

Objectives: The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT axis is an important cell-signaling pathway that mediates cell proliferation and survival, two biological processes that regulate malignant cell growth. The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase CA gene encodes the p110α subunit of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase protein. There are phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase CA mutations in several types of human tumors, and they are frequently observed in breast cancer.

Down-regulation of the candidate tumor suppressor gene PAR-4 is associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer.

Substantial experimental evidence indicates that PAWR gene (PKC apoptosis WT1 regulator; also named PAR-4, prostate apoptosis response-4) is a central player in cancer cell survival and a potential target for cancer-selective targeted therapeutics. However, little is known about the role of PAR-4 in breast cancer. We investigated the possible role of PAR-4 expression in breast cancer.

Transcriptome characterization of human mammary cell lines expressing different levels of ERBB2 by serial analysis of gene expression.

Over-expression of ERBB2, a member of the family of transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinases, occurs in 15-30% of primary breast tumors and is associated with poor prognosis and chemoresistance to a variety of anticancer drugs. In this study, aiming to identify differentially-expressed genes involved in erbB2-mediated transformation of the breast, we generated SAGE libraries from two human mammary cell lines, derived from normal luminal cells, expressing different levels of erbB2. The parental cell line HB4a expresses basal levels and the C5.

Differentially expressed genes in the prostate cancer cell line LNCaP after exposure to androgen and anti-androgen.

Androgens play an important role in growth and maintenance of prostate cells. The actions of androgens are mediated by the androgen receptor (AR), a transcription factor member of the super-family of nuclear hormone receptors. Androgen regulated genes (ARGs) are potential markers for early diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer patients.

JDP1 (DNAJC12/Hsp40) expression in breast cancer and its association with estrogen receptor status.

The members of the DnaJ/Hsp40 proteins are highly conserved through evolution, expressed in several tissues and act as co-chaperone regulating protein folding, transport, translational initiation and gene expression. Recently, using cDNA microarray we identified differences in the expression of the JDP1 (DNAJC12) gene, a member of the DnaJ/Hsp40 family, between ER-positive and ER-negative breast tumours. In this study, using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) we evaluated the expression pattern of the JDP1 gene in a series of 72 primary breast tumours and investigated the effects of 17beta-estradiol on the expression of the JDP1 in MCF-7 breast cancer cells.

TP53 mutations in primary breast carcinomas from white and African-Brazilian patients.

We have attempted to determine the incidence, nature and clinical significance of TP53 mutation in a group of white (242 cases) and African-Brazilian (52 cases) patients with breast cancer. The interethnic admixture as estimated by STR markers showed that white subjects displayed 67.9+/-0.