Mouse mammary tumor virus-like gene sequences in breast cancer samples of Mexican women.
BACKGROUND
Previous reports related the presence of mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV)-like gene sequences to human breast carcinoma. The aim of this study was to determine whether MMTV-like env gene sequences are present in breast cancer samples of Mexican women and in breast and lung cancer cell lines.


METHODS
Using specific primers for MMTV, we tested 3 breast cancer cell lines, 4 non-small lung cancer cell lines and 119 breast cancer samples from Mexican women.


RESULTS
MMTV-like gene sequences were amplified in the lung cancer cell INER-51, but not in the MCF-7 cell line that has been used as a positive control in other reports and in 5 of 119 (4.2%) breast cancer biopsy tissues. Furthermore, the identity of sequences of PCR products from INER-51 and a breast cancer-positive sample are 98 and 99% when compared with the env region of MMTV (GenBank accession No. AY161347).


CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that MMTV-like gene sequences are present in the Mexican population.
Zapata-Benavides
P
P
Departamento de Microbiología e Inmunología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL), Ciudad Universitaria, San Nicolás de los Garza, NL, México.
Saavedra-Alonso
S
S
Zamora-Avila
D
D
Vargas-Rodarte
C
C
Barrera-Rodríguez
R
R
Salinas-Silva
J
J
Rodríguez-Padilla
C
C
Tamez-Guerra
R
R
Trejo-Avila
L
L
D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D002460:Cell Line; D017931:DNA Primers; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D015752:Genes, env; D006801:Humans; D008324:Mammary Tumor Virus, Mouse / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008800:Mexico; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data
D017931:DNA Primers; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm