Expression of heat shock cognate 70 in breast cancer

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to obtain a general profile of heat shock cognate 70 gene (HSC70) expression in breast cancer. Materials and Methods: Five breast cancer cell lines plus one non-malignant breast epithelial cell line, and seven breast cancer tissues plus one normal breast tissue sample were selected for this study. RNA was extracted from these samples using standard procedures. The HSC70 expression was assessed by Northern blot analysis using a cDNA fragment of HSC70 as the probe. Two blots, one for cell line samples, the other for tissue samples, were performed. The signal density of each sample was calibrated against a respective loading control. Results: In the blot of cell line, the expression levels of HSC70 were similar among the breast cancer cell lines and the non-malignant cell line except for T47D, which displayed a 3.3-fold of the signal density than that of non-malignant cell line. In the blot of tissue, the variation of the HSC70 expression among the samples was narrow as well, however, one of the samples displayed a 2.5-fold greater amount of the signal density than that of the normal breast tissue counterpart. Conclusion: Most of the breast cancers and normal counterparts expressed similar levels of HSC70. However, a small fraction of the breast cancers over-expressed HSC70.