Aim: To detect the expression pattern of fatty acid binding protein (FABP) in human breast cancer, and to find potential markers and therapeutic targets for breast cancer.
Methods: adipocyte-FABP (A-FABP), heart or muscle FABP (H-FABP), brain-FABP (B-FABP), epidermis or psoriasis FABP (E-FABP), liver FABP (L-FABP), intestinal FABP (I-FABP) and gastro-FABP (G-FABP) expression in 35 ductal infiltrating carcinoma and 16 fibroadenoma of breast were detected by RT-PCR, immunohistochemical staining and Western blot analysis, respectively.
Results: E-, L-, and H-FABP were up regulated significantly in ductal infiltrating carcinoma when compared with those in benign tissue (P<0.05). However, there were not significant difference in A-, B-, G-, and I-FABP expression between ductal infiltrating carcinoma and benign tissue (P>0.05). Interestingly, H-FABP was not only found in benign tissues but in some of ductal infiltrating carcinomas, furthermore, H-FABP level was elevated in malignant tissue, compared with that in benign tissue.
Conclusion: E-, L-, and H-FABP may play a key role in the progress of invasiveness and metastasis in human breast cancer. Furthermore, the secretion of these FABPs has the potential to serve as a diagnostic marker for breast cancer.