Expression pattern analysis of the family genes in breast cancer patients and hypomethylation activation in the MCF-7 cells.

Melanoma antigen gene (MAGE) families are cancer-testis genes that normally show expression in the testes. However, their expressions have been linked with various types of human cancers, including BC. Therefore, the primary purposes of the present research were to assess the expression of , B, and C genes in Saudi female patients with BC and determine their regulation via the epigenetic mechanism. Ten BC samples were analyzed for the expression levels of nine genes, six genes, and three genes using the RT-PCR technique. All 18 evaluated genes except for , , and showed weak band expressions in some BC specimens. and were expressed in 40 % of the BC tissue samples, and , , and were expressed in 30 %. The lowest expression levels were found for , , , , , and in 10 % of the BC specimens and for , and in 20 % of the samples. The most frequently expressed gene was (found in 70 % of the BC samples), which suggests that it may serve as - a marker for screening of BC. treatment, the 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine agent led to a significant rise in mRNA expressions for all tested genes related to the family, except for . By contrast, among the genes in the and families, only and exhibited detectable mRNA expression levels after treatment.