Molecular cloning of a novel NF2/ERM/4.1 superfamily gene, ehm2, that is expressed in high-metastatic K1735 murine melanoma cells

We have cloned a novel gene, Ehm2, that is expressed in high-metastatic but not in low-metastatic K-1735 murine melanoma cells. The Ehm2 gene encodes a protein of 527 amino acid residues, showing up to 41% amino acid identity with the FERM domain of NF2/ERM/4.1 superfamily proteins, which have the function of connecting cell surface transmembrane proteins to cytoskeletal molecules. The Ehm2 gene was mapped to chromosome 4 and was expressed in the liver, lung, kidney, and testis and in 7- to 17-day embryos. The highest level of homology was observed with NBL4, which is a new subfamily protein of the NF2/ERM/4.1 superfamily. A human homologue of the mouse Ehm2 gene, showing significant homology (83% identity), was identified in the genomic DNA and EST databases. Furthermore, seven rat EST clones and one pig EST clone in the GenBank EST database were identified as having 83-92% sequence homology with the cDNA sequence of the mouse Ehm2 gene. Thus, Ehm2 is a highly conserved gene that encodes a novel member of the NF2/ERM/4.1 superfamily proteins.     

Isolation and characterization of the major form of human MUC18 cDNA gene and correlation of MUC18 over-expression in prostate cancer cell lines and tissues with malignant progression.

Ectopical expression of huMUC18, a cell adhesion molecule in the immunoglobulin gene superfamily, causes a non-metastatic human melanoma cell line to become metastatic in a nude mouse system. To determine if MUC18 expression correlates with the development and malignant progression of prostate cancer, we investigated differential expression of human MUC18 (huMUC18) in normal prostate epithelial cells, prostate cancer cell lines, and prostatic normal and cancer tissues. We cloned and characterized the human MUC18 (huMUC18) cDNA gene from three human prostate cancer cell lines and three human melanoma cell lines. The cDNA sequences from the six human cancer cell lines were identical except differences in one to five nucleotides. The deduced amino acid sequences of the longest ORF were 646 amino acids that were identical in these cDNAs except for one to three amino acid residues. The amino acid sequences of all our huMUC18 cDNA genes are similar to that cloned by other group (GenBank access #M28882) except differences in the same seven amino acids. We conclude that huMUC18 cDNA gene reported here represents the gene product from a major allele. The MUC18 mRNA and protein was expressed in three metastatic prostate cancer cell lines (TSU-PR1, DU145, and PC-3), but not in one non-metastatic prostate cancer cell line (LNCaP.FGC). The expression of huMUC18 in these four cell lines is positively related to their extent of in vitro motility and invasiveness and in vivo metastasis in nude mice. HuMUC18 protein was also expressed at high levels in extracts prepared from tissue sample sections containing high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN), but weakly expressed in extracts prepared from cultured primary normal prostatic epithelial cells and the normal prostate gland. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that huMUC18 was expressed at higher levels in the epithelial cells of high-grade PIN and prostatic carcinomas, and in cells of a perineural invasion, a lymph node, and a lung metastases compared to that in normal or benign hyperplastic epithelium (BPH). We therefore conclude that MUC18 expression is increased during prostate cancer initiation (high grade PIN) and progression to carcinoma, and in metastatic cell lines and metastatic carcinoma. Increased expression of MUC18 is implicated to play an important role in developing and malignant progression of human prostate cancer. Furthermore, the lacking of predominant cytoplasmic membrane expression of MUC18 appeared to correlate with malignant progression of prostate cancer.     

13q14断裂重排与非小细胞肺癌转移潜能关系的研究

肿瘤转移的细胞经常存在染色体数目异常和结构畸变,在多种有转移潜能的肿瘤细胞中都涉及到13q14的异常。以往研究表明在同一组织来源但转移潜能不同的肺腺癌细胞系AGZY83-a和Anip973中存在13q14的断裂重排。采用mRNA差异展示技术（mRNA DD）分析这一对细胞系得到的差异表达基因BRI基因位于13q14。为了进一步分析肺癌细胞的转移潜能与13q14断裂重排间的关系,采用13q涂染探针对具有不同转移潜能的非小细胞肺癌细胞系PAa、SPC-1-A和95D中期分裂相进行G显带后的荧光原位杂交分析。结果发现在3个肺癌细胞系中有多种13号染色体长臂的结构异常,其中此3个细胞系均涉及13q32-33的频发断裂。但是低转移肺癌细胞系PAa、SPC-1-A均未涉及13q14的断裂,而高转移肺癌细胞系95D的两种细胞克隆均可见13q14的断裂。提示13q14断裂点与肺癌细胞的转移能力有一定的相关性,两者之间的遗传学意义需要进一步研究探索。     

Differential expression of a tropomyosin isoform in low- and high-metastatic Lewis lung carcinoma cells.

Two-dimensional electrophoretograms of newly synthesized polypeptides from low-metastatic (P29) and high-metastatic (D6) Lewis lung carcinoma cells were compared. The results showed that the synthesis of tropomyosin 2 (TM2) was significantly less in D6 cells than in P29 cells. Furthermore, suppression of TM2 synthesis was induced in P29 cells during incubation in medium containing dimethyl sulfoxide or butyric acid, which induced the metastatic phenotype of P29 cells. These results suggest that the suppression of TM2 synthesis is linked to the metastatic potential of Lewis lung carcinoma cells.     

荧光差异显示PCR克隆参与胃腺癌转移的基因wcl1

使用来源于同一个胃腺癌病人的原发灶RF 1(ATCC编号CRL 186 4 )和转移灶RF 4 8(ATCC编号CRL 186 3)作为研究肿瘤转移的模型 .通过荧光差异显示PCR(FDD PCR)技术 ,克隆了 4 5个涉及胃腺癌转移相关基因 .和原发灶CRL 186 4相比 ,发现在转移灶CRL 186 3细胞中有 38个基因被显著上调 ,7个基因被显著下调 ,包括未被发现的基因 3个 .利用生物信息学技术对其中 1个在RF 4 8中高度上调的wcl1进行克隆和鉴定 ,发现wcl1的cDNA全长为 6 6 4bp ,含有 1个 2 4 0bp的完整阅读框 .用RT PCR和Northern印迹证实 ,结果与克隆拼接的大小完全一致 (NCBI数据库收录号AF36 4 86 3) .wcl1编码肽位于胞浆内含 79个氨基酸 ,理论上的pI Mr:5 2 8 896 1 72 .氨基酸序列分析发现 ,其N端 4～ 5 5氨基酸处为未知功能区UPF0 0 16蛋白 ,5 7～ 78处有一段亮氨酸拉链结构域 ,未发现与已知的蛋白质有高度的同源性 .该基因定位于 11q14.组织分布表明 ,wcl1除在分化差的胃腺癌中的表达要高于相应的正常胃组织 ,在微血管内皮中表达也明显高于乳腺管癌、脑纤维状星形细胞瘤 ,未检测到在其它组织有分布 .研究提示 ,Wcl1可能为胃腺癌转移过程中参与核内基因转录的相关蛋白质 .     

Molecular cloning of yeast cytochrome C-like polypeptide expressed in human lung carcinoma: An antigen recogizable by lung cancer-specific human monoclonal antibody

Summary We previously determined the amino acid sequence to the epitope (ATLFKTR) of cytochrome c fromCandida krusei, which is cross-reactive to the lung cancer-specific human monoclonal antibody HB4C5. Here we report that an antigen messenger RNA, which codes for a structure similar to the cytochrome c epitope, is expressed in the human lung adenocarcinoma A549. Sequencing analysis has revealed that this messenger RNA encodes a novel 190 amino acid polypeptide of 21-kDa containing an amino acid sequence (ALLFFT) similar to the cytochrome c epitope, although the total messenger RNA sequence is apparently different from the cytochrome c messenger RNA. Western analysis indicated that an antibody-recognizable 21-kDa antigen which has the same molecular weight as the predicted polypeptide is expressed in the A549 adenocarcinoma. Thein vitro translated product of the antigen messenger RNA and synthesized ALLFFT peptide were both shown to be reactive with the monoclonal antibody, indicating that this protein contains the epitope which enables A549 cells to specifically react with the antibody. The antigen mRNA was not expressed in non-transformed fibroblasts, suggesting that the antigen mRNA expression was associated with cellular transformation. Also in part of the antigen nucleotide sequence, there was a segment that had about 90% homology to the long terminal repeat sequence (no. 297–475) of the human endogenous retrovirus HERV-K10, which was related to the mouse mammary tumor virus.     

Isolation and characterization of a cDNA that encodes mouse fibroblast tropomyosin isoform 2.

We isolated and characterized a cDNA clone encoding tropomyosin isoform 2 (TM2) from a mouse fibroblast cDNA library. TM2 was found to contain 284 amino acids and was closely related to the rat smooth and skeletal muscle alpha-TMs and the human fibroblast TM3. The amino acid sequence of TM2 showed a nearly complete match with that of human fibroblast TM3 except for the region from amino acids 189 to 213, the sequence of which was identical to those of rat smooth and skeletal muscle alpha-TMs. These results suggest that TM2 is expressed from the same gene that encodes the smooth muscle alpha-TM, the skeletal muscle alpha-TM, and TM3 via an alternative RNA-splicing mechanism. Comparison of the expression of TM2 mRNA in low-metastatic Lewis lung carcinoma P29 cells and high-metastatic D6 cells revealed that it was significantly less in D6 cells than in P29 cells, supporting our previous observations (K. Takenaga, Y. Nakamura, and S. Sakiyama, Mol. Cell. Biol. 8:3934-3937, 1988) at the protein level.     

不同转移能力的肺腺癌细胞系金属蛋白酶活性分析

为了探讨肺腺癌细胞系中金属蛋白酶的活性与其转移能力之间的相关性,选取9个转移能力不同的肺腺癌细胞系,分别对它们所分泌的金属蛋白酶MMP－2、MMP－9进行活性分析。结果发现,金属蛋白酶的活性与肺腺癌细胞系的转移能力有一定的相关性,其中MMP－9的活性与肺腺癌细胞系的转移相关性更显著。 Abstract:To investigate the relationship between the MMP activities and metastatic ability in human lung adenocarcinoma cell lines with differential metastatic potential.Nine lung adenocarcinoma cell lines were tested for their MMP activities by zymographic analysis methods.The MMP production capabilities of carcinoma cells rose following the increase of their metastatic potentials.The result suggested that there was some relationship between MMP－9 activties and metastatic potential in human lung adenocarcinomas.     

cDNA cloning and sequence analysis of beta ig-h3, a novel gene induced in a human adenocarcinoma cell line after treatment with transforming growth factor-beta.

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is capable of affecting the proliferation of many cell types. To identify novel genes whose protein products may mediate cellular responses to this factor, a cDNA library was made from mRNA isolated from a human lung adenocarcinoma cell line (A549) that had been treated for 3 days with TGF-beta. The library was screened by differential hybridization and a cDNA clone, beta ig-h3, was isolated. This gene was induced up to 20-fold in A549 cells after 2 days of treatment with TGF-beta 1. It was also induced in several other cell lines, including PC-3 and H2981. DNA sequence analysis of beta ig-h3 indicated that it encoded a novel protein, beta IG-H3, of 683 amino acids, which contained an amino-terminal secretory sequence and a carboxy-terminal Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) sequence that can serve as a ligand recognition site for several integrins. beta IG-H3 also contained short amino acid regions homologous to similar regions in Drosophila fasciclin-I and four homologous internal domains, which can be folded into a potential bivalent structure and could act as a bridge between cells expressing the appropriate ligand. beta ig-h3 RNA was detected in several cell lines and tissues. COS cells transfected with plasmids encoding beta IG-H3 secreted a major 68-kD protein that was detected by immunoblotting using antipeptide antibodies. Since beta ig-h3 is induced in several cell lines whose proliferation is affected by TGF-beta 1, it may be involved in mediating some of the signals of this multifunctional growth modulator.     

Human-human hybridomas secreting antibodies specific to human lung carcinoma

Summary Human Namalwa cells were screened in serum-free medium and in 6-thioguanine, then fused with human lymphocytes from lymph nodes of lung adenocarcinoma cancer patients. Extensive testing using 14 lung cancer cell lines, 11 other cancer cell lines and 4 normal fibroblast lines identified monoclonal antibodies produced by 4 hybridoma clones that reacted specifically with lung adenocarcinoma cells. These monoclonal antibodies also reacted with lung adenocarcinoma tissues and not normal tissues or erythrocytes of any blood type. These hybridoma clones grew and stably secreted the antibodies in serum-free medium as well as in serum-containing medium. Editor's Statement Identification of monoclonal antibodies that recognize human lung adenocarcinoma cells with reasonable specificity represents a potentially important development that may prove useful in diagnosis and therapy of neoplastic disease. The selection procedures and methods for propagation of the human-human hybridomas described in this paper also represent some novel approaches that may be of general application. David W. Barnes     

PC-1分子转录激活功能研究

PC-1基因是在人前列腺癌细胞中克隆的新基因,表达水平随前列腺癌恶性程度增加而升高,其表达产物具有转录因子的一些特征.为研究PC-1分子的转录激活功能,首先应用酵母双杂交系统将PC-1全长以及不同区段的cDNA克隆到表达载体pAS2-1中,然后分别转化酵母细胞株CG-1945. lacZ和His3报告基因激活的检测结果表明,该分子具有转录激活活性并将该活性定位于N端的46个氨基酸区域.此外,将PC-1分子不同区段的cDNA分别克隆至表达载体pZHO1中,将它们与报告基因质粒pTRE-luc共转染哺乳动物细胞COS7和C4-2,Firefly荧光素酶相对活性的检测结果表明,该分子N端的46个氨基酸区域具有转录激活活性.     

Caveolin-1 silencing arrests the proliferation of metastatic lung cancer cells through the inhibition of STAT3 signaling

Cav-1 is an essential structural constituent of caveolae implicated in mitogenic signaling, oncogenesis, angiogenesis, neurodegenerative diseases and senescence. Its role as a tumor suppressor gene or as a tumor promoter seems to strictly depend on cell type and tumor stage/grade. The high expression of Cav-1 in some tumors in vivo, amongst which lung adenocarcinoma, is associated with increased tumor aggressiveness, metastatic potential and suppression of apoptosis. In the present study we investigated the role of Cav-1 in metastatic lung cancer proliferation. Cell lines were from metastatic lesions of lung adenocarcinoma (RAL) and of small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC-R1), in which we found Cav-1 expressed at high levels. Results show that siRNA-mediated down-regulation of Cav-1 caused stable arrest of proliferation in both cell lines. A marked reduction of cyclin D1 and of CDK4 expression was evident in the cells transfected with Cav-1 siRNA and consequently of phospho-Rb on ser(795) and ser(780). Furthermore, a significant decrease of the expression of phosphorylated AKT and of its down-stream effectors phosphorylated ERK and STAT3 was evident. Together, these findings indicate that Cav-1 silencing induces an arrest of human metastatic lung proliferation in vitro by a new inhibitory pathway in lung cancer and provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the pro-survival and tumor-promoting functions of Cav-1.     

人细胞差异表达基因cDNA消减杂交体系的建立

为克隆肺腺癌分化相关基因, 采用诱导分化与消减杂交相结合的策略, 建立了全反式维甲酸(RA)诱导前后人肺腺癌细胞系的cDNA消减文库, 得到124个cDNA消减克隆. 经加减法杂交差异筛选、DNA和RNA印迹、cDNA全序列测定和生物学功能分析, 分离到3个在人肺腺癌细胞系分化过程中由RA激活而特异表达的新的cDNA序列这一策略和技术路线适用于分离细胞中呈过量表达或表达抑制基因的cDNA克隆, 并具有反映细胞分化过程中基因表达动态变化特征和相对简便适用的特点.     

Inflammatory Cytokines and Survival Factors from Serum Modulate Tweak-Induced Apoptosis in PC-3 Prostate Cancer Cells

Tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK, TNFSF12) is a member of the tumor necrosis factor superfamily. TWEAK activates the Fn14 receptor, and may regulate cell death, survival and proliferation in tumor cells. However, there is little information on the function and regulation of this system in prostate cancer. Fn14 expression and TWEAK actions were studied in two human prostate cancer cell lines, the androgen-independent PC-3 cell line and androgen-sensitive LNCaP cells. Additionally, the expression of Fn14 was analyzed in human biopsies of prostate cancer. Fn14 expression is increased in histological sections of human prostate adenocarcinoma. Both prostate cancer cell lines express constitutively Fn14, but, the androgen-independent cell line PC-3 showed higher levels of Fn14 that the LNCaP cells. Fn14 expression was up-regulated in PC-3 human prostate cancer cells in presence of inflammatory cytokines (TNFα/IFNγ) as well as in presence of bovine fetal serum. TWEAK induced apoptotic cell death in PC-3 cells, but not in LNCaP cells. Moreover, in PC-3 cells, co-stimulation with TNFα/IFNγ/TWEAK induced a higher rate of apoptosis. However, TWEAK or TWEAK/TNFα/IFNγ did not induce apoptosis in presence of bovine fetal serum. TWEAK induced cell death through activation of the Fn14 receptor. Apoptosis was associated with activation of caspase-3, release of mitochondrial cytochrome C and an increased Bax/BclxL ratio. TWEAK/Fn14 pathway activation promotes apoptosis in androgen-independent PC-3 cells under certain culture conditions. Further characterization of the therapeutic target potential of TWEAK/Fn14 for human prostate cancer is warranted.     

Inter-cellular adhesion disruption and the RAS/RAF and beta-catenin signalling in lung cancer progression

Cadherin cell adhesion molecules play an essential role in creating tight intercellular association and their loss has been correlated with poor prognosis in human cancer. Mutational activation of protein kinases and loss of cell adhesion occur together in human lung adenocarcinoma but how these two pathways interconnect is only poorly understood. Mouse models of human lung adenocarcinoma with oncogene expression targeted to subtypes of lung epithelial cells led to formation of adenomas or adenocarcinomas that lacked metastatic potential. Conditional genetic abrogation of epithelial tumour cell adhesion in mice with benign lung tumours induced by oncogenic RAF kinase has been demonstrated to induce intratumourous vascularization (angiogenic switch), progression to invasive adenocarcinoma and micrometastasis. Importantly, breaking cell adhesion in benign oncogene-driven lung tumour cells activated β-catenin signalling and induced the expression of several genes that are normally expressed in intestine rather than the lung. I will discuss potential routes to nuclear β-catenin signalling in cancer and how nuclear β-catenin may epigenetically alter the plasticity of tumour cells during malignant progression.     

Expression of the pS2 gene in human gastric cancer cells derived from poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma

NH2-terminal amino acid sequence of the pS2 protein produced and secreted by human gastric cancer cells, MKN-45, was determined to be identical to that of MCF-7 cells. A clone encoding pS2 protein was isolated from the cDNA library constructed from MKN-45 cells. The nucleotide sequence was identical to that of pS2 cDNA previously isolated from human breast cancer cells, MCF-7, except for one nucleotide in the 3' untranslated region. Thus, in this cell line, the pS2 gene product is translated and secreted as in MCF-7 cells. RNA blot hybridization analysis revealed that pS2 gene was expressed well in two (MKN-45 and KATO-III; derived from poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma) but not in three cell lines (MKN-1, MKN-28 and MKN-74; from well differentiated adenocarcinoma), suggesting that expression of the pS2 gene depends on the state of cell differentiation. These results suggest that pS2 is expressed in human gastric cancer cells in an estrogen-independent manner and is possibly associated with the malignant state of cells.