title: Expression of prothymosin-alpha and c-myc mRNA in human gastric cancer.
abstract: Prothymosin-alpha (PT-alpha) is a nuclear protein involved in cell proliferation. c-myc is implicated in the carcinogenesis of many human cancers. PT-alpha gene transcription is reported to be regulated by the c-myc gene in vitro. However, little has been reported on the PT-alpha and c-myc mRNA expressions in gastric cancer. We semi-quantitatively determined the PT-alpha and c-myc mRNA expressions in 60 pairs of gastric cancer tissue (T) and corresponding normal tissue (N) using the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction method. The average of T/N ratio was 1.20 for PT-alpha and 1.30 for c-myc. Cases demonstrating a T/N ratio of more than 1.0 were seen in 33 (55%) and 30 (50%) cases for PT-alpha and c-myc, respectively. No significant correlation was observed between either of these two mRNA expressions and any of the examined clinicopathologic factors for gastric cancer. However, a significant correlation was seen between the expressions of both genes (p<0.0001). The findings support the hypothesis that, regarding human gastric cancer, the transcription of PT-alpha is considered to be under the control of c-myc gene, however, the value of these gene expressions do not reflect biological behavior.
authors.affiliation: KYUSHU UNIV,MED INST BIOREGULAT,DEPT SURG,BEPPU,OITA 874,JAPAN. OITA PREFECTURAL HOSP,DEPT SURG,OITA,JAPAN.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shibuta
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mimori
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakashima
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Baba
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haraguchi
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Karimine
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ueo
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akiyoshi