ADAR1 gene expression and its importance in breast cancer

RNA editing mediated by ADAR1 is vital for the survival of mammals, and its malfunction leads to irregular editing of its targets, potentially influencing the observable characteristics of breast cancer. The study aims to investigate ADAR1- p110 and ADAR1-p150 gene expression in breast cancer patients' tissue samples (tumor and normal), to determine the role of this expression in tumor development, and to correlate expression levels with patients' clinical findings to understand breast cancer heterogeneity. In this research, we used tumor and adjacent normal tissue samples from 75 patients diagnosed with breast cancer who had undergone surgery. The levels of gene expression were determined using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The study found that ADAR1-p110 expression was significantly higher (1.32-fold, p < 0.0001) in tumor tissue compared to adjacent normal tissue. Similarly, ADAR1-p150 expression also showed a significant increase (1.58-fold, p < 0.0001) in tumor tissue compared to normal tissue. ADAR1-p150 expression was significantly higher in ER (estrogen receptors )-positive patients compared to ER-negative patients (p = 0.04). Additionally, patients with lobular histology showed significantly higher ADAR1-p150 expression levels compared to those with ductal histology (p = 0.02). Our findings, obtained by using tumor and normal tissue from the same individual, demonstrate increased ADAR1 gene expression in tumor tissue. Considering the literature data indicating ADAR1's association with drug resistance and the correlation we observed between ADAR1 expression levels and certain clinicopathological data of the patients, it is evident that ADAR1 expression is a parameter that should be taken into account in treatment planning.