title: Growth arrest-specific gene 6 expression in human breast cancer.
abstract: Growth arrest-specific gene 6 (Gas6), identified in 1995, acts as the ligand to the Axl/Tyro3 family of tyrosine kinase receptors and exerts mitogenic activity when bound to these receptors. Overexpression of the Axl/Tyro3 receptor family has been found in breast, ovarian and lung tumours. Gas6 is upregulated 23-fold by progesterone acting through the progesterone receptor B (PRB). Recently, Gas6 has been shown to be a target for overexpression and amplification in breast cancer. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis was used to determine the levels of Gas6 mRNA expression in 49 primary breast carcinomas. Expression of PRB protein was evaluated immunohistochemically with a commercially available PRB antibody. The results showed a positive association between PRB protein and Gas6 mRNA levels (P=0.04). Gas6 correlated positively with a number of favourable prognostic variables including lymph node negativity (P=0.0002), younger age at diagnosis (P=0.04), smaller size of tumours (P=0.02), low Nottingham prognostic index scores (P=0.03) and low nuclear morphology (P=0.03). This study verifies for the first time the association between PRB and Gas6 in breast cancer tissue.
authors.affiliation: UCD School of Medicine and Medical Science, UCD Conway Institute, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Mc Cormack
authors.forename: W Y
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fitzpatrick
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cooke
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Flynn
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gallagher
authors.forename: A Mc
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Goldrick
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Dervan
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mc Cann
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kerin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone / Q000378:metabolism; D012307:Risk Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis; D000099255:Growth Arrest-Specific Protein 6
chemical_list: D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone; D000099255:Growth Arrest-Specific Protein 6; C097314:progesterone receptor B