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Comparative Study
. 2004 Oct 18;91(8):1591-6.
doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6602144.

Expression of the transcription factor CTCF in invasive breast cancer: a candidate gene located at 16q22.1

E A Rakha  1 , S E Pinder, C E Paish, I O Ellis
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Expression of the transcription factor CTCF in invasive breast cancer: a candidate gene located at 16q22.1

E A Rakha et al. Br J Cancer. .

Abstract

CTCF is a ubiquitous 11-zinc-finger protein that plays a role in gene silencing or activation, chromatin insulation and genomic imprinting. The CTCF gene has been mapped to the chromosome band 16q22.1 that shows frequent loss of heterozygosity in breast cancer. The E-cadherin gene is the known tumour suppressor gene (TSG) at this region in lobular carcinomas; however, the target gene in the more frequent ductal tumours is still unknown. Since CTCF targets include TSGs and oncogenes and it has the ability to inhibit cell growth and proliferation, it has been suggested that it may be the target gene at the 16q22.1 in ductal carcinomas. In the present study, tissue microarray technology was used to study the expression pattern of CTCF immunohistochemically in 344 cases of invasive breast carcinoma and its expression was correlated with clinicopathological variables and patient outcome. Results showed that breast tissues express CTCF in the parenchymal cells of the normal ducts and lobules but with a variable percentage of positive cells. Staining of CTCF was detected in the nuclei and cytoplasm of the malignant cells, but no significant loss or decrease of expression was noticed in association with any specific tumour type. There was a significant correlation between expression of CTCF and histological grades; lower expression was associated with grade 3 tumours. Cytoplasmic expression was associated with increased tumour size and with the presence of vascular invasion. However, no association was found between CTCF expression and tumour type, lymph node stage, oestrogen receptor expression or patient outcome. In conclusion, the current results show that CTCF, although it may play a role in breast carcinogenesis, is unlikely to be the TSG targeted by the 16q22.1 loss in breast cancer and thus another gene or genes at this region remain to be identified.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Expression of CTCF in the normal parenchymal cells of the breast (dilution of the primary antibody was 1 : 50, overnight).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The same case after peptide blocking of the antibody showing marked reduction of staining.
Figure 3
Figure 3
TMA showing expression of CTCF in the normal and malignant tissues of the breast.
Figure 4
Figure 4
A case of ductal/NST carcinoma showing heterogeneous pattern of positive nuclear staining of CTCF.
Figure 5
Figure 5
A case with positive cytoplasmic staining.
Figure 6
Figure 6
A case with reduced or weak staining of CTCF showing positive staining of stromal cells.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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