title: Ugene, a newly identified protein that is commonly overexpressed in cancer and binds uracil DNA glycosylase.
abstract: Expression microarrays identified a novel transcript, designated as Ugene, whose expression is absent in normal colon and colon adenomas, but that is commonly induced in malignant colon cancers. These findings were validated by real-time PCR and Northern blot analysis in an independent panel of colon cancer cases. In addition, Ugene expression was found to be elevated in many other common cancer types, including breast, lung, uterus, and ovary. Immunofluorescence of V5-tagged Ugene revealed it to have a nuclear localization. In a pull-down assay, uracil DNA glycosylase 2 (UNG2), an important enzyme in the base excision repair (BER) pathway, was identified as a partner protein that binds to Ugene. Coimmunoprecipitation and Western blot analysis confirmed the binding between the endogenous Ugene and UNG2 proteins. Using deletion constructs, we find that Ugene binds to the first 25 amino acids of the UNG2 NH(2) terminus. We suggest that Ugene induction in cancer may contribute to the cancer phenotype by interacting with the BER pathway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106-7285, USA.
authors.forename: Chunguang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Xiaodong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Stephen P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Fink
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Platzer
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: James K V
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Willson
authors.forename: Zhenghe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Sanford D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Markowitz
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D017931:DNA Primers; D006801:Humans; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011485:Protein Binding; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D051981:Uracil-DNA Glycosidase / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; C531184:FAM72A protein, human; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D051981:Uracil-DNA Glycosidase