title: Identification of a novel human cancer/testis gene MAEL that is regulated by DNA methylation.
abstract: The mouse maelstrom (MAEL) gene has been found to be expressed in male germ cells and to play a role in spermatogenesis. Here, we cloned the human MAEL gene by digital differential display and found that, among human tissues, MAEL is only expressed in the testis, but it is also expressed in various cancer cell lines. The transcription start site of the MAEL gene is 74-bp upstream of the start codon. The region from -216 to +150 is the basal promoter of the MAEL gene, and a CpG island (-295 to +148) is located in this region. Treatment with the demethylating agent 5'-Aza-2-Deoxycytidine significantly upregulated MAEL expression. These results suggest that MAEL is a novel cancer/testis-associated gene and is regulated by DNA methylation.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Protein Chemistry and Developmental Biology of Education Ministry of China, College of Life Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan 410081, China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Yijun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yankai
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Chang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jianlin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001374:Azacitidine / Q000494:pharmacology; D001483:Base Sequence; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D019175:DNA Methylation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D013736:Testicular Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D013737:Testis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D014157:Transcription Factors; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C552355:MAEL protein, human; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D001374:Azacitidine
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