%0 Journal Article
%T Alterations of BCCIP, a BRCA2 interacting protein, in astrocytomas
%A Jingmei Liu
%A Huimei Lu
%A Hiroko Ohgaki
%A Adrian Merlo
%A Zhiyuan Shen
%J BMC Cancer
%D 2009
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1471-2407-9-268
%X Genomic DNA from 45 cases of grade IV astrocytic tumor (glioblastoma) tissues and 12 cases of normal tissues were analyzed by quantitative PCR. The BCCIP protein expression in 96 cases of grade II¨CIV astrocytic tumors was detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC). IHC staining of glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP), a marker for astrocytic cells, was used to identify cells of the astrocytic lineage.We found that BCCIP protein is expressed in normal cells with positive staining of GFAP. However, BCCIP protein expression was not detectable in ~45% of all astrocytic tumors, and in > 60% in the grade IV glioblastoma. About 45% glioblastoma have significant (p < 0.01) reduction of BCCIP gene copy number when compared to normal DNA. Furthermore, the frequency of lacking BCCIP expression is associated with the aggressiveness of astrocytic tumors.Our data implicate a role of BCCIP in astrocytic tumorigenesis, and lack of BCCIP may be used as a marker for astrocytomas.Astrocytic tumor, or astrocytoma, is one of the most lethal forms of brain cancer although they rarely metastasize. Improvement of astrocytoma interventions requires further understanding on the genetic alterations associated with these tumors. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of chromosome 10q (especially region 10q25.3¨C26.2) is frequently associated with astrocytoma [1-11]. LOH on chromosome 10q26 is highly correlated with a poor prognosis for astrocytoma [1-7,9-12], and perhaps is the one of the most reliable prognosis markers associated with a worse outcome [8,9,13]. Thus, identifying the gene(s) in this region associated with this form of brain tumor is of critical importance for astrocytoma intervention. In addition to brain tumor, LOH of 10q26 has been shown to be associated with prostate cancers, endometrial cancers, and lung cancers [14-17], further suggesting the importance of identifying the tumor related gene(s) on 10q26.Genomic instability is a major driving force for tumor progression. The BRCA2 gene pl
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2407/9/268