منصوره دستگیر - Department of Genetics, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran
گرشاسب ریگی - Department of Genetics, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran
سمیرا گل محمدی - Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Estahban Higher Education Center, Shiraz University, Estahban, Iran
صدیقه طهماسبی - Breast Disease Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

Background & Objectives: Breast cancer is the most lethal malignancy in women. miRNAs function as epigenetic regulators and contribute to the pathogenesis of breast cancer. Nuclear factor of activated T-cells, cytoplasmic ۱ (NFATc۱) and ۳ (NFATc۳), are targeted by microRNA-۹۳ (miR-۹۳). This study aims to evaluate the expression of these genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of healthy women and women with breast cancer. Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, blood samples were collected from ۲۰ healthy women and ۲۰ women with early-stage breast cancer. After isolating peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis were performed. The expression of the desired genes was then examined by Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Statistical analysis was conducted. A p-value less than ۰.۰۵ was considered statistically significant, and Student's t-test was used to evaluate the relative changes in gene expression. Results: The results demonstrated that the expression of NFATc۱ and NFATc۳ genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of breast cancer patients was significantly reduced compared to their expression in healthy individuals. Conversely, the expression of the miR-۹۳-۳p gene was significantly lower in healthy women than in breast cancer patients (p < ۰.۰۵). Conclusions: This study investigated the expression of miR-۹۳-۳p and its downstream targets, the NFATc۱ and NFATc۳ genes, for the first time in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The expression levels were shown to be significantly different in patients with breast cancer compared to healthy women. Keywords:

Breast Neoplasms, Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction, MicroRNAs