Differential Expression Analysis of Dopamine Receptor Genes DRD2, DRD3 and DRD4 in the Tumoral and Tumor Margin Samples of Breast Cancer Patients

Cancer is one of the major causes of mortality in the world, and breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer affecting adult women. Various neurotransmitters may performed to tumor development through stimulation, migration, or metastasis. One of these neurotransmitters is dopamine, also involved in cell proliferation. Some neurotransmitters, dopamine in particular, can cause T-cells to proliferate and secrete cytokines. In this study, the expression levels of D2-like dopamine receptors were assessed in breast cancer tissues. Total mRNA was extracted from breast cancer tissues and tumor margin samples and reverse-transcribed into complementary DNA (cDNA). Internal control samples were also included prior to real-time PCR, and the results were statistically analyzed. The expression levels of the three genes DRD2, DRD3 and DRD4 were significantly increased in breast cancer tissue compared to those of the normal tissue, in the order of DRD2,DRD4 and DRD3. The correlation between dopamine receptors and breast cancer is discussed.