Redundant cyclin overexpression and gene amplification in breast cancer cells

Cyclins are prime cell cycle regulators and are central to the control of major check points in eukaryotic cells. The aberrant expressions of two cyclins (i.e., cyclins A and D1) have been observed in some cancers, suggesting they may be involved in loss of growth control. However, in spite of these occasional changes involving only two cyclins, there are no clear connections between general derangements of other cyclins or their dependent kinases in a single tumor type. We detected general cyclin overexpression in 3 of 3 breast tumor tissue samples. In addition, using proliferating normal vs. human tumor breast cells as a model system, we observed a number of alterations in cyclin expression: (i) an 8-fold amplification of cyclin E gene in one tumor line, a 64-fold overexpression of its mRNA, and altered expression of its protein; (ii) deranged expression of cyclin E protein in all (10 of 10) tumor cell lines studied; (iii) increased cyclin mRNA stability, resulting in (iv) general overexpression of RNAs and proteins for cyclins A and B CDC2 in 9 of 10 tumor lines and (v) deranged order of appearance of cyclins in synchronized tumor vs. normal cells, with mitotic cyclins appearing prior to G₁ cyclins. These multiple general derangements in cyclin exprission in human breast cancer cells provide evidence linking aberrant cyclin expression to tumongenesis.