Progress on breast cancer metastasis suppressor 1 (BRMS1)

Tumour metastasis is a significant contributor to death in cancer patients. So studies on the molecular mechanism of tumor metastasis can provide new prognostic and therapeutic methods. Tumor metastasis suppressor gene is a kind of genes that only suppresses metastasis without affecting tumorigenicity and tumor growth. BRMS1 is a tumor metastasis suppressor gene discovered in breast carcinoma cells in 2000. Its protein product was found to also suppress metastasis of melanoma cells and murine mammary carcinoma cells. BRMS1 is located in the nucleus,and interacts with mSin3-HDAC complex, and can alter the connexin expression profile of breast carcinoma cells, thereby restoring cell-cell communication via gap junctions. This review highlights some recent progress in the study of BRMS1, gives a brief introduction of related genes, and predicts its possible mechanism of action.