An A10398G mitochondrial DNA alteration is related to increased risk of breast cancer, and associates with Her2 positive receptor

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women worldwide after lung cancer. Mitochondria play a central role in the regulation of cellular function, metabolism, and cell death in cancer cells. We aim to examine the mitochondrial polymorphisms of complex I in association with breast cancer in an Iranian cohort.

This experimental study includes 53 patients with breast cancer and 35 healthy control patients. In addition, tumor-adjacent normal breast tissue was obtained from each patient. The DNA of the tissue cells was extracted and analyzed for complex I mutations using a PCR sequencing method. Our results show 94 mtDNA complex I variants in tumor tissues. A10398G was the most prevalent polymorphism and strongly correlated with Her2 receptor in tumor tissue samples. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations have been widely linked to the etiology of numerous disorders. The mtDNA mutations screening on A10398G along with other mutations might provide insight on the role of mitochondrial mutations in breast cancer.

Keywords:

• Breast cancer
• mitochondria
• complex I(ND1–ND6)
• mtDNA mutation

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge all the clinicians at the National Cancer Institute at Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by the Iran National Science Foundation and supported by National Institute for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB), Tehran, Iran.