title: The co-expression of telomerase and ALT pathway in human breast cancer tissues.
abstract: Recently, telomerase-targeted therapy was studied intensively; however, many studies have verified the existence of alternative lengthening mechanisms of telomeres in vitro. In the present work, we explored the expression characteristic of the two kinds of telomere-prolonging mechanisms in the breast cancer tissues per se. Furthermore, we studied the relationship between Her-2 expression and ALT pathway. Ninety samples of breast cancer tissues were examined in this research. RT-PCR was used for the detection of the expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT); IHC was used for the detection of the expression of promyelocytic leukemia body (PML) bodies; the co-expression of PML bodies and hTERT was detected using the QDs-based immunofluorescence. The co-expression of PML body and hTERT was found in the same cell in breast cancer tissues, and ten samples expressed neither PML bodies nor hTERT. Additionally, the expression of PML bodies and Her-2 was statistically co-related (P = 0.047). The two kinds of mechanisms of telomere extension can co-exist in the same cell in beast cancer tissues, and there may be other mechanisms of telomere extension functioning in human breast carcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Oncology Center, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430060, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Qibin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008875:Middle Aged; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D000071156:Promyelocytic Leukemia Protein; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000032:analysis; D019098:Telomerase / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D016615:Telomere; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000032:analysis; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D000071156:Promyelocytic Leukemia Protein; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D019098:Telomerase; D014157:Transcription Factors; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; C070576:PML protein, human; C508053:ERBB2 protein, human; C509186:TERT protein, human