title: Absence of tpr-met and expression of c-met in human gastric mucosa and carcinoma.
abstract: The c-met proto-oncogene, encoding the hepatocyte growth factor receptor, can be activated by various mechanisms. These include, among others, gene amplification with concomitant overexpression and the tpr-met oncogenic rearrangement. In the case of gastric cancer, contradictory results on the presence of the tpr-met oncogenic rearrangement have been published. The current study aimed therefore to assess the prevalence of tpr-met expression in Caucasian gastric adenocarcinomas, to evaluate the importance of this oncogene in their carcinogenesis. In addition, the level of c-met expression was determined, to evaluate the role of this alternative mode of activation of the proto-oncogene. A series of Caucasian gastric adenocarcinomas (n=43) and normal gastric mucosal samples (n=14) was analysed for tpr-met and c-met expression. Expression of tpr-met mRNA in the samples was performed by two reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays, with excellent correlation. The specificity of both methods was confirmed by direct sequencing of the PCR products of the MNNG-HOS cell line, which is known to contain the rearrangement. The level of c-met expression was assessed using semi-quantitative RT-PCR assays and immunohistochemistry (IHC). None of the normal gastric mucosal or gastric adenocarcinoma samples expressed tpr-met mRNA, as determined by both RT-PCR assays. Seventy per cent of the adenocarcinomas showed overexpression of c-met, according to elevated c-met mRNA levels, compared with the expression level of normal gastric mucosa. A significant correlation was found between the level of c-met mRNA and protein expression. In conclusion, these results strongly suggest that tpr-met activation does not play a role in Caucasian gastric carcinogenesis, while overexpression of the c-met gene occurs in the majority of Caucasian gastric adenocarcinomas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Vrije Universiteit, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands. dam.heideman@azvu.nl
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Heideman
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Snijders
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bloemena
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Meijer
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Offerhaus
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Meuwissen
authors.forename: W R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Gerritsen
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Craanen
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D015870:Gene Expression; D015321:Gene Rearrangement; D006801:Humans; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D015514:Oncogene Proteins, Fusion / Q000378:metabolism*; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D019859:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: C000715470:MAS1 protein, human; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D015514:Oncogene Proteins, Fusion; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm; D019859:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met