Biological evolution of tryptophan and phenylalanine in the occurrence of breast cancer in Senegalese women

Abstract

The reports provided by OMS in 2011 revealed that cancer is a major cause of death worldwide, causing 7.6 million deaths in 2008. Breast cancer represents in the world, the most common malignancy of women, and it seems that the low penetrance genes, frequently mutated in the general population would play an important role in the development of this cancer. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the involvement of the protein diversity of cytochrome B (mitochondrial gene) in the occurrence of breast cancer in Senegalese women. We analyzed by PCR-sequencing cytochrome B variability in thirty Senegalese patients suffering from breast cancer. The nucleotide sequences obtained were transformed into amino acid sequences with BioEdit software version 7.0.8. Changes of one or more tryptophan to other amino acids, ranging normal tissue to cancerous tissue, are noted in some individuals with a penetrance of 72.41%. Our results also show a significant increase (79.3%) in the rate of phenylalanine in cancerous tissues with very different proportions between individuals. Any increase in the rate of tryptophan and phenylalanine in cancerous tissues could be correlated with an increased risk of developing breast cancer. Key words: Cytochrome B, tryptophan, phenylalanine, breast, cancer, Senegal.