Differential expression of the E2 ubiquitin conjugating enzyme UBE2T in cancers of the breast.
Breast cancer affects women at relatively high frequency (1). We mined published microarray datasets (2, 3) to determine in an unbiased fashion and at the systems level genes most differentially expressed in the primary tumors of patients with breast cancer. We report here significant differential expression of the gene encoding the ubiquitin conjugating enzyme E2 T, UBE2T, when comparing primary tumors of the breast to the tissue of origin, the normal breast. UBE2T was also differentially expressed in the tumor cells of patients with triple negative breast cancer. UBE2T mRNA was present at significantly higher quantities in tumors of the breast as compared to normal breast tissue. Analysis of human survival data revealed that expression of UBE2T in primary tumors of the breast was correlated with overall survival in patients with basal and luminal A subtype cancer, but in a contrary manner. UBE2T may be of relevance to initiation, maintenance or progression of cancers of the female breast.