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pap, reg Iα and reg Iβ mRNAs are concomitantly up‐regulated during human colorectal carcinogenesis
Author(s) -
Rechreche Hocine,
Montalto Guiseppe,
Mallo Gustavo V.,
Vasseur Sophie,
Marasa Lorenzo,
Soubeyran Philippe,
Dagorn JeanCharles,
Iovanna Juan L.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0215(19990531)81:5<688::aid-ijc3>3.0.co;2-r
Subject(s) - biology , colorectal cancer , carcinogenesis , immunohistochemistry , cancer research , epithelium , microbiology and biotechnology , gene expression , gene silencing , blot , western blot , pathology , cancer , gene , medicine , immunology , biochemistry , genetics
We have established the phenotype of a colorectal tumor by partial sequencing of 2166 transcripts that were eventually arrayed on high‐density filters. These filters were used for differential screening with mRNAs of colorectal cancer and normal adjacent mucosa to characterize genes whose expression is altered in colorectal carcinoma. Three genes encoding related proteins, PAP, reg Iα and reg Iβ, were over‐expressed in cancer. Northern‐blot analysis confirmed that their expression was very low in normal colonic epithelial cells, but elevated in 75% of tumors. Western blotting with specific antibodies to pap and reg Iα revealed in tumors a single band of the expected size (15–16 kDa), demonstrating synthesis of the proteins. Pap was localized by immunohistochemistry to the cytoplasm of epithelial cells. In cancerous tissue, many cells showed a strong staining signal, but the proportion of stained cells was variable among patients. In normal mucosa, staining was light and restricted to a few cells scattered in the epithelium. Similar results were obtained with antibodies against reg Iα. No significant relationship was found between concentrations of pap, reg Iα or reg Iβ and clinical outcome. We looked at potential effectors of pap/reg gene over‐expression by testing, in 2 adenocarcinoma cell lines, the efficacy of the pap promoter at driving a reporter gene; strong induction was observed upon exposure to IFNγ and IL‐6. By analogy with observations in hepatocellular carcinoma, our results suggest that prevention of PAP/reg expression in normal colon cells by silencing their gene promoters is relieved during colon carcinogenesis, allowing their up‐regulation by mediators such as cytokines. Int. J. Cancer 81:688–694, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.