Background & objective: Beta protein 1 (BP1) gene, a novel member of DLX homeobox gene family, is located in 17q21-22 region and overexpressed in both acute myeloid leukemia and acute T cell lymphocytic leukemia. However, the reports on the function of BP1 in solid tumors are rare. The study was designed to determine the expression of BP1 gene in breast cancer and to analyze its relationship with various clinicopathological factors.
Methods: With beta-actin gene as a reference, BP1 mRNA expression was detected in 82 breast cancer tissues and 12 near adjacent tissues and 10 far adjacent tissues using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
Results: The expression rates of BP1 in near and far adjacent tissues were 16.67% (2/12) and 0% (0/10), respectively; while the expression rate in breast cancer group was 64.63% (53/82). There were statistically significant differences among the three groups (P< 0.05). Overexpression of BP1 in breast cancer was correlated with histological grade (P< 0.05). Nevertheless, no correlation was found between BP1 expression and other clinicopathological factors, including tumor size, lymph nodal metastasis, family history, pathological type, menarcheal age, primiparous age, number of pregnancy, menopausal status, ER status and PR status (P >0.05).
Conclusion: BP1 gene is of upregulated expression in breast tumors and could be regarded as a new and vital biomarker in breast cancer research.