| Affiliation: | (1) Department of Oncological Sciences, Huntsman Cancer Institute, 84112 Salt Lake City, UT, USA;(2) Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, 27599 Chapel Hill, NC, USA;(3) ARUP Laboratories Inc, 84108 Salt Lake City, UT, USA;(4) Department of Pathology, University of Utah, 84112 Salt Lake City, UT, USA |
| Abstract: | There is a need for statistical methods to identify genes that have minimal variation in expression across a variety of experimental conditions. These 'housekeeper' genes are widely employed as controls for quantification of test genes using gel analysis and real-time RT-PCR. Using real-time quantitative RT-PCR, we analyzed 80 primary breast tumors for variation in expression of six putative housekeeper genes (MRPL19 (mitochondrial ribosomal protein L19), PSMC4 (proteasome (prosome, macropain) 26S subunit, ATPase, 4), SF3A1 (splicing factor 3a, subunit 1, 120 kDa), PUM1 (pumilio homolog 1 (Drosophila)), ACTB (actin, beta) and GAPD (glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase)). We present appropriate models for selecting the best housekeepers to normalize quantitative data within a given tissue type (for example, breast cancer) and across different types of tissue samples. |
