Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1994 May 1;73(9):2333-6.
doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19940501)73:9<2333::aid-cncr2820730915>3.0.co;2-4.

Expression of LINE-1 retrotransposons in human breast cancer

G L Bratthauer  1 , R D Cardiff, T G Fanning
Affiliations

Expression of LINE-1 retrotransposons in human breast cancer

G L Bratthauer et al. Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: Several diseases have been linked to the insertion of human LINE-1 retrotransposons (L1Hs) into structural genes. Recently, the element has been shown to be expressed in a variety of adult and pediatric germ cell cancers, leading to speculation that L1Hs-induced insertion mutations may play a role in the etiology of some neoplasias.

Methods: An L1Hs-encoded protein (p40) was assayed in breast cancer cell lines by Western blotting and in solid tumors by immunohistochemical staining and Western blotting.

Results: L1Hs retrotransposons are expressed in a significant number of human breast cancers: expression was detected in 7 of 8 malignant cell lines and in 9 of 12 primary infiltrating ductal carcinomas. No expression was detected in two nonmalignant breast epithelial cell lines, five malignant B- or T-cell lines, tissue from a normal breast, a primary breast sarcoma, or a primary medullary carcinoma of the breast.

Conclusions: These results raise the possibility that L1Hs expression may contribute to the origin or progression of some breast cancers.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources