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Expression of 2 variant forms of fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 in human breast
Author(s) -
Luqmani Yunus A.,
Mortimer Caroline,
Yiangou Constantinos,
Johnston Caroline L.,
Bansal Gurpal S.,
Sinnett Dudley,
Law Matthew,
Charles Coombes R.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/ijc.2910640411
Subject(s) - autocrine signalling , fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 , biology , paracrine signalling , fibroblast growth factor receptor , receptor , gene isoform , cell culture , fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 , extracellular , microbiology and biotechnology , fibroblast growth factor , fibroblast , cancer research , gene , genetics
The expression of variant mRNAs encoding isoforms of fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) 1 with either 2 or 3 Ig‐like loops in the extracellular domain was investigated in human breast tissues and cell lines using a polymerase chain reaction amplification method. Almost all tissues contained both forms of FGFR1, but cancers (n = 137) had a significantly lower proportion of the transcript that encoded the full 3‐loop form compared with non‐malignant biopsies (n = 34). This was confirmed using microdissected populations of normal and cancerous cells from frozen tissue sections. A high ratio of the 2‐to 3‐loop form was found to be predictive of reduced relapsefree survival. In both groups, however, the predominant form of FGFR1 was that encoding the 2‐loop receptor. Cell lines derived from a variety of tissues, including breast, also co‐expressed both variants of FGFR1, suggesting their presence within the same cell type. Again, there was a similar preponderance of the shorter isoform. Our results were confirmed at the protein level, where out of 5 cancers analysed 4 expressed more of the 2‐loop form than the 3‐loop form. Our findings suggest that cells may normally simultaneously express several splice variants of FGFR1, and aberrant expression or a change in their relative amounts (i.e., in malignancy) could contribute to modified responses to either autocrine or paracrine factors. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.