Breast Carcinoma Amplified Sequence 4 (BCAS4)

Barlund et al. (2002) identified a partial sequence of BCAS4 within a fusion transcript detected in the MCF7 breast cancer cell line. Using several cloning techniques, they obtained the full-length sequence from a liver cDNA library. The deduced 221-amino acid protein has a calculated molecular mass of about 23 kD and is predicted to be cytoplasmic. Northern blot analysis revealed a 1.3-kb transcript expressed mainly in brain, thymus, spleen, kidney, and placenta. Nine of 13 breast cancer cell lines tested showed overexpression of BCAS4.und et al. (2002) determined that a 1.3-kb transcript overexpressed in the MCF7 breast carcinoma cell line resulted from a fusion between the BCAS3 gene from chromosome 17 and the BCAS4 gene from chromosome 20. Although amplification of either or both genes was common in the 12 other breast cancer cell lines examined, no other cell line expressed the fusion transcript.