Analysis of SATB1 and SATB2 Expression in the Mouse Model of Chemically Induced Skin Carcinogenesis

Special AT-rich sequence binding proteins (SATB) 1 and the closely related SATB2 have been proposed to act as genome organizers that regulate chromatin structure and gene expression by recruiting chromatin remodelling/modifying enzymes and transcription factors to genomic DNA. Despite the fact that the changes in the expression levels of SATB1 and SATB2 were shown to be associated with tumour growth and metastasis development in various cancer cells such as lymphoma, colorectal and breast cancer cells, the potential role of SATB1 and SATB2 gene activity in tumours of the skin is still unknown. In the present study, SATB1 and SATB2 expression levels were investigated in mouse skin at early and middle stages of chemically induced carcinogenesis by quantitative RT-PCR analysis. Here, it was found that both SATB1 and SATB2 were down-regulated during the middle stage (papillomas) of skin carcinogenesis. Furthermore, the comparison of the relative expression levels of SATB1 to SATB2 has shown that SATB2 has a greater down-regulation in the middle stage of skin carcinogenesis. These data provide a fundamental knowledge and insight about SATB1 and SATB2 association with the skin carcinogenesis by determining and comparing their relative gene expression levels.