title: The hypoxia-regulated transcription factor DEC1 (Stra13, SHARP-2) and its expression in gastric cancer.
abstract: Differentiated embryo-chondrocyte expressed gene 1 (DEC1), as a bHLH transcriptional factor, plays important roles in cell differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis. The expression of DEC1 and its role in human gastric cancer are unknown. This study was designed to characterize the DEC1 gene profiling of human gastric cancer tissues. The expression of DEC1 in gastric cancer tissues was analyzed by cDNA microarray, reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Western blot, and immunohistochemical studies. Microarray assay demonstrated that DEC1 was one of the upregulated genes in gastric cancer when compared with normal tissues. The expression of DEC1 mRNA was increased in gastric cancer as determined by RT-PCR. An increased DEC1 protein expression in gastric cancer was verified by Western blot analysis. Immunohistochemical studies showed that the 83.02% gastric cancer tissues (44/53) were stained positive for DEC1. The DEC1 expression was increased during the tumor progression from well differentiated (50%, 4/8) to moderately differentiated (76%, 13/17), and poorly differentiated (96%, 27/28) tumor tissues. In contrast, a weak staining for DEC1 (low expression) was observed in 10 % normal tissues (1/10). Statistical analysis found a significant correlation between increased DEC1 expression and poorly differentiated cancer tissues. These data characterized DEC1 expression in gastric cancer and identified a correlation between upregulation of DEC1 expression and differentiation of gastric cancer, suggesting that DEC1 may play an important role in the differentiation and progression of gastric cancer.
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratory, Jinan Central Hospital affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Yanfei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: Yunshan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Binbin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xiaohong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Dongjie
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Yuping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000235:genetics*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014157:Transcription Factors; C107989:BHLHE40 protein, human