[Study on genomic imprinting of IGF2 in breast cancer]

To explore the imprinting status of the insulin like growth factor-2 associated with the development of breast cancer.

The samples of heterozygotes of IGF-2 was identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) in 47 breast cancers tissue and their adjacent tissues, and then imprinting status of IGF-2 in these heterozygosis were detected by RT-PCR-RFLP.

Losses of imprinting of IGF2 were found in both of the cancer tissues and adjacent normal breast tissue and the incidence rates of losses of printing in the adjacent tissues(79.2%) were more higher than those in the cancer tissues (50.0%), it has statistical significance (P = 0.035). If there were losses of imprinting of IGF-2 in the breast cancer tissues, then there were losses of imprinting of IGF-2 in their corresponding adjacent tissues. But If there were maintain of imprinting of IGF-2 in the breast cancer tissues, then there were losses and maintain of imprinting of IGF-2 in their corresponding adjacent tissues.

The loss of imprinting of IGF-2 could be involved in the development of breast cancer.