Functional evidence for a nasopharyngeal carcinoma-related gene BCAT1 located at 12p12.
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignancy that is prevalent among populations from Southeast Asia. The carcinogenesis of NPC is thought to be a multistep process involving several genetic changes. Our previous study based on distance and branching-tree models for NPC carcinogenesis indicated +12p11-p12 was an early event and should play an important role in NPC development. To understand the role of +12p11-p12 as the tree model predicted and evaluate which gene located at 12p11-p12 might be involved in NPC development, semiquantitative RT-PCR was applied to examine the expression status of 18 genes selected from 12p11-p12 in 36 NPC and 8 normal nasopharynx (NP) biopsies. The results revealed that BCAT1, KCNJ8, PTX1, and KRAS2 genes were overexpressed in NPC tissues and BCAT1 was of particular interest based on its function reported in other tumors. To further elucidate the function of BCAT1 gene in NPC, BCAT1 expression was specifically suppressed in 5-8F NPC cell line by RNA interference (RNAi), confirmed by RT-PCR and Western blotting. As expected, the depletion of BCAT1 could effectively block the proliferation of NPC cells. The BCAT1 identified in the amplified 12p11-p12 region may play a certain role in NPC development.
Zhou
Wen
W
Cancer Research Institute, Xiang-Ya School of Medicine, Central South University, Hunan 410078, PR China.
Feng
Xiangling
X
Li
Hong
H
Wang
Lei
L
Li
Hui
H
Zhu
Bin
B
Zhang
Hejun
H
Yao
Kaitai
K
Ren
Caiping
C
D015153:Blotting, Western; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D002881:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 12; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D034622:RNA Interference; D000637:Transaminases / Q000235:genetics*; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics
C431845:ERGIC2 protein, human; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins; C490590:BCAT1 protein, human; D000637:Transaminases