Affiliations: [a] Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Science and High Technology and Environmental Sciences, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman, Iran | [b] Pathology and Stem Cell Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Malek Hossein Asadi, Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Science and High Technology and Environmental Sciences, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman, Iran. Tel.: +98 342 6233196; E-mail:mh.asadi@kgut.ac.ir
Abstract: BACKGROUND: OCT4 is a key regulator of self-renewal and
pluripotency in embryonic stem cells which can potentially encode three
spliced variants designated OCT4A, OCT4B and OCT4B1. Based on cancer stem
cell concept, it is suggested that the stemness factors misexpressed in
cancer cells and potentially is involved in tumorigenesis. OBJECTIVE: Accordingly, in this study, we investigated the
potential expression of OCT4 variants in breast cancer tissues. METHODS: A total of 94 tumoral and peritumoral breast specimens
were evaluated with respect to the expression of OCT4 variants using
quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis. RESULTS: We detected the expression of OCT4 variants in breast tumor
tissues with no or very low levels of expression in peritumoral samples of
the same patients. While OCT4B was highly expressed in lobular type of
breast cancer, OCT4A and OCTB1 variants are highly expressed in low grade (I
and II) ductal tumors. Furthermore, the results of this study revealed a
considerable association between the expression level of OCT4 variants and
the expression of ER, PR, Her2 and P53 factors. CONCLUSIONS: All data demonstrated a distinctive expression pattern
of OCT4 spliced variants in different types of breast cancer and provide
further evidence for the involvement of embryonic genes in carcinogenesis.
Keywords: OCT4 spliced variants, cancer stem cells, breast cancer
