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The expression of the H19 gene and its function in human bladder carcinoma cell lines
Author(s) -
Ohana P.,
Kopf E.,
Bibi O.,
Ayesh S.,
Schneider T.,
Tykocinski M.,
de Groot N.,
Hochberg A.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/s0014-5793(99)00780-2
Subject(s) - transfection , biology , rna , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , gene expression , cell culture , cell growth , gene product , enhancer , reporter gene , carcinoma , cancer research , cell , genetics
The human H19 gene is a paternally imprinted oncofetal gene, highly expressed in several fetal tissues, down‐regulated in nearly all adult tissues but re‐expressed in carcinomas of tissues which express the gene in fetal life. It has no known protein product and till today, no function could be designated to H19 RNA. Cells derived from bladder carcinomas and hepatocellular carcinomas were transfected with plasmids carrying a luciferase reporter gene under the control of a 800 nucleotides long promoter region of the H19 gene either alone or together with different parts of a 5 kb downstream region, previously shown to possess enhancer activity. Our results provide evidence that three regions of the 3′ downstream sequence can independently stimulate the H19 promoter activity in a tissue and cell specific manner. The growth rate of two cell populations, both derived from the same bladder carcinoma cell line and which differ in their H19 RNA content, were compared. The cells with a high H19 RNA level stopped their proliferation after 48 h when cultivated in a low serum containing media while the cells lacking H19 RNA continued their proliferation for at least an additional 48 h period.