TRIM3 and TRIM16 as potential tumor suppressors in breast cancer patients

OBJECTIVE: Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among women in many countries. Numerous factors serve as oncogenes or tumor suppressors in breast cancer. The large family of Tripartite-motif (TRIM) proteins with ~ 80 members has drawn attention for their role in cancer. TRIM3 and TRIM16 have shown suppressive activity in different cancers. This study aimed to evaluate the expression of TRIM3 and TRIM16 in cancerous and normal breast samples and to investigate their association with different clinical and pathological parameters. RESULTS: qRT-PCR was utilized to determine the gene expression of TRIM3 and TRIM16. The expression of TRIM3 and TRIM16 genes in tumor samples were significantly reduced to 0.45 and 0.29 fold, respectively. TRIM3 and TRIM16 genes expression were both positively correlated with the invasion of breast cancer. TRIM3 gene expression was associated with tumors’ histological grade. However, no significant association was found between the expression of the genes and tumor size, stage and necrosis. The expression of TRIM3 and TRIM16 are significantly reduced in breast cancer tissues. Besides, the expression of both TRIM3 and TRIM16 genes significantly plummet in lymphatic/vascular and perineural invasive samples. Hence, we suggest a potential tumor suppressor role for TRIM3 and TRIM16 in breast cancer.