This study focused on the expression and regulation of BRCA1 in breast cancer cell lines compared to normal breast. BRCA1 transcript levels were assessed by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in the cancer cell lines. Our data show overexpression of BRCA1 mRNA level in all the studied breast cancer cell lines: MCF-7, T47D, MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 along with Jurkat, leukemia T-lymphocyte, the positive control, relative to normal breast tissue. To investigate whether a positive or negative correlation exists between BRCA1 and the transcription factor E2F6, three different si-RNA specific for E2F6 were used to transfect the normal and cancerous breast cell lines. Interestingly, strong negative relationship was found b

Breast cancer becomes a major threat to female health, many reports refer to a high incidence of breast cancer in Iraq; especially, in the last years. The micro RNA-370 molecules have not been reported in Iraqi cancer patients. Our objective in this study was to identify the expression of micro RNA-370 molecules in breast cancer patients as an early detection biomarker of breast tumors and detect its relation with clinicopathological characters of breast cancer patients. Fifty fresh tissue samples were collected from benign and malignant breast patients in addition to ten normal tissue samples collected as a control group, the age ranged was(19 - 77) years for patients. The miR-370 gene expression level was measured by the quantitative r

STAG proteins, which are part of the cohesin complex and encoded by the STAG genes, are known as Irr1/Scc3 in yeast and as SA/STAG/stromalin in mammals. There are more variants as there are alternate splice sites, maybe three open reading frames (ORFs) code for three main proteins, including: SA1 (STAG1), SA2 (STAG2) and SA3 (STAG3). The cohesin protein complex has various essential roles in eukaryotic cell biology. This study compared the expression of the STAG1 gene in four different breast cancer cell lines, including: MCF-7, T-47D, MDA-MB-468, and MDA-MB-231 and normal breast tissue. RNA was extracted from these cell lines and mRNA was converted to cDNA, and then expression of the STAG1 gene was quantified by three sets of specific p

FLI1 is a member of ETS family of transcription factors that regulate a variety of normal biologic activities including cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. The expression of FLI1 and its correlation with well-known breast cancer prognostic markers (ER, PR and HER2) was determined in primary breast tumors as well as four breast cancer lines including: MCF-7, T47D, MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 using RT-qPCR with either 18S rRNA or ACTB (β-actin) for normalization of data. FLI1 mRNA level was decreased in the breast cancer cell lines under study compared to the normal breast tissue; however, Jurkat cells, which were used as a positive control, showed overexpression compared to the normal breast. Regarding primary breast carcinoma

STAG proteins, which are part of the cohesin complex and encoded by the STAG genes, are known as Irr1/Scc3 in yeast and as SA/STAG/stromalin in mammals. There are more variants as there are alternate splice sites, maybe three open reading frames (ORFs) code for three main proteins, including: SA1 (STAG1), SA2 (STAG2) and SA3 (STAG3). The cohesin protein complex has various essential roles in eukaryotic cell biology. This study compared the expression of the STAG1 gene in four different breast cancer cell lines, including: MCF-7, T-47D, MDA-MB-468, and MDA-MB-231 and normal breast tissue. RNA was extracted from these cell lines and mRNA was converted to cDNA, and then expression of the STAG1 gene was quantified by three sets of specific prim

     The human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) gene plays a critical role in breast cancer development and progression. HER2 overexpression characterizes a biologically and clinically aggressive breast cancer subtype. In this study, 60 samples from Iraqi women with breast cancer were collected and investigated for HER2 protein in the tissue by immunohistochemistry. Also, 20 samples from healthy Iraqi women were used as a control. The results showed that 18 (30 %) patients expressed the HER2 protein. A molecular study for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was conducted on samples metastasizing to lymph nodes. DNA was extracted and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to amplify e

     The lymphotoxin alpha is a highly polymorphic gene and any genetic variation in it may lead to an increased production of cytokine LTA thus helping tumor development and progression. The aim of this work was to investigate the association of LTA polymorphism with the risk of breast cancer among Iraqi women. The findings of this study demonstrated that the age group > 50 years old formed 52% of the breast cancer patients (P <0.001). Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium analysis revealed that genotype frequencies of most SNPs in BC patients and HC were consistent with HWE. No association was found between LTA polymorphisms and BC. Moreover, seven haplotypes were detected in BC group. However, only one of them developed sign

Background: Breast cancer is the most common
malignancy affecting females worldwide. The association
of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) with this cancer is a longstanding
interest to this field.
Aim: to investigate the presence of EBV in breast tumor
tissue in relation to age.
Patients and Methods: Paraffin-embedded tissue blocks
from 45 female patients with breast tumors (ranged in age
from 28 to 85 years) were retrieved. The cases were
grouped into two categories: group (A): included 30 cases
with breast carcinoma and group (B): included 15 cases
with benign breast diseases as a control group .The
expression of EBV protein was examined
immunohistochemically.
Results: Twelve (40%) of the 30 breast canc

Background: CYP1A1 gene polymorphisms and tobacco smoking are among several risk factors for various types of cancers, but their influence on breast cancer remains controversial. We analyzed the possible association of CYP1A1 gene polymorphisms and tobacco smoking-related breast cancer in women from Iraq. Materials and methods: In this case-control study, gene polymorphism of CYP1A1 gene (CYP1A1m1, T6235C and CYP1A1m2, A4889G) of 199 histologically verified breast cancer patients' and 160 cancer-free control women's specimens were performed by using PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism. Results: Three genotype frequencies (TT, TC, and CC) of CYP1A1m1T/C appeared in 16.1, 29.6, and 54.3% of women with breast cancer, respectiv