IRF2BP1 is differentially expressed in primary tumors and brain metastases in humans with breast cancer.
Metastasis to the brain is a clinical problem in patients with breast cancer (1-3). We mined published microarray data (4, 5) to compare primary and metastatic tumor transcriptomes to discover genes associated with brain metastasis in patients with metastatic breast cancer. We report here the differential expression of the interferon regulatory factor 2 binding protein 1, encoded by IRF2BP1, in the primary tumors and brain metastases of humans with breast cancer. IRF2BP1 mRNA was present at significantly increased quantities in brain metastatic tissues as compared to primary tumors of the breast. These data combined suggest that up-regulation of IRF2BP1 is a conserved event, both during transformation of breast tissues and progression to central nervous system metastasis and further point to potential importance of IRF2BP1 modulation during progression of human breast cancer.