Objective: To investigate the expression level of antisense transcript of FAS (FAS-antisense 1, FAS-AS1) in breast cancer, and its effect on the host gene soluble Fas receptor (sFas).
Methods: The expression of FAS-AS1 and sFas gene was detected in 20 cases of breast cancer tumors and breast cancer cells and their normal counterparts by using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR). The effects of FAS-AS1 on the expression of sFas gene in breast cancer cells were analyzed by overexpressing FAS-AS1 in breast cancer cells.
Results: FAS-AS1 expression in breast cancer tissue and cell lines was significantly lower than that of adjacent breast tissue (P=0.000) and normal breast cells (P<0.01). However, sFasexpression in the breast cancer tissue and cell lines was significantly higher than that of adjacent breast tissue (P=0.001) and normal breast cells (P<0.01). The expression of FAS-AS1 was negatively correlated with the expression of sFas(r=-0.751, P=0.020). FAS-AS1 expression was observed to be closely correlated with tumor size (r(2)=0.351, P=0.025) and lymph node metastasis (r(2)=0.265, P=0.043). Expression of sFas and cell proliferation was significantly reduced in FAS-AS1-overexpressing MCF-7 cells (P<0.05).
Conclusion: FAS-AS1 is distinctly downexpressed in breast cancer, and it has certain effects on the expression of host gene sFas and breast cancer development.