Validation of a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction method for the quantification of 3 survivin transcripts and evaluation in breast cancer tissues.

BACKGROUND

Survivin is a novel antiapoptotic gene, which is a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) family. Recently, 3 splice variants of this gene were cloned and characterized. This study aimed to validate a sensitive and specific method for the detection of survivin variants in breast cancer.

METHODS

Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was performed on the cDNA with a reverse primer specific for each splice variant and a pair of common hybridization probes.

RESULTS

The expression of wild-type survivin was significantly correlated with survivin-2b, survivin-ΔEx3, and the ratio of survivin-ΔEx3 to wild-type survivin (P < .001). The ratio of survivin-2b to wild-type survivin was strongly associated with the ratio of survivin-ΔEx3 to wild-type survivin (P < .001). There was a strong positive association between the grade of the tumor and survivin-2b mRNA, survivin-ΔEx3 mRNA, and the ratio of survivin-ΔEx3 to wild-type survivin mRNA (P < .05). The ratio of survivin-2b to wild-type survivin was significantly associated with the presence of estrogen receptors (P = .05).

CONCLUSION

Our validated data suggest that survivin isoforms may be related to clinicopathological features and could be used as molecular prognostic tools or as new therapy targets.