Leucine Rich Repeat Containing Protein 49 (LRRC49)

The LRRC49 gene is located on chromosome 15q23 in close proximity to the THAP10 (THAP domain containing 10) gene. These two genes have a bidirectional organization being arranged head-to-head on opposite strands, possibly sharing the same promoter region. Analysis of the promoter region of this gene pair revealed the presence of potential estrogen response elements (EREs), suggesting the potential of this promoter to be under the control of estrogen. Hypermethylation was observed in 57.5% of the breast tumors analyzed, and the levels of mRNA expression of both genes were inversely correlated with promoter hypermethylation. the transcripts of LRRC49/THAP10 bidirectional gene pair are co-regulated by estrogen and that hypermethylation of the bidirectional promoter region simultaneously silences both genes.