Down-regulated expression of ATPase family, AAA-domain containing 2 (ATAD2) in human recurrent/metastatic and non-metastatic breast cancer

Background: the ATAD2 gene encodes an ATPase containing two AAA domains and a bromodomain, and it has been previously shown to be overexpressed in breast carcinomas and in other malignancies. However, we unexpectedly found down-regulated expression of ATAD2 in both recurrent/metastatic and non-metastatic breast cancer Iranian patients. Methods: mRNA gene expression of ATAD2 in early-stage, ER-positive and lymph node-negative breast tumor tissues from 15 recurrent/metastatic and 70 non-metastatic breast cancer patients as well as in 15 normal breast tissues (control) were measured by SYBR green real-time PCR assay. The differences with P value <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: the expressions of ATAD2 in the non-metastatic group was significantly lower than that in the healthy controls (P<0.001). Also, the expressions of ATAD2 in the recurrent/metastatic group was decreased compared to the control (P<0.05). However, the expressions of ATAD2 in the recurrent/metastatic group was significantly higher than that in the nonmetastatic group (P<0.05). There was no correlation between the gene’s expression and stage and grade of the disease. Conclusion: it seems that down-regulation of the ATAD2 gene might be implicated in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. However, regarding the controversial evidence on the expression of the ATAD2 among different populations, this gene does not seem to serve as a promising marker for breast cancer.

Keywords:

ATAD2 , Breast cancer , Gene expression