• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.326.1-326.1
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• 2002

We applied serological analysis of cDNA expression library technique to identify cancer-associated genes. We screened cDNA expression libraries of human testis and gastric cancer cell lines with sera of patients with gastric cancers. We identified a gene whose expression is testis-specific among normal tissues. We cloned and characterized this novel gene. It contains D-E-A-D box domain and encodes a putative protein of 630 amino acids with possible helicase activity. It showed wide expression in various cancer tissues and cancer cell lines. (omitted)

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.912-922
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• 2011

Cancer-testis (CT) antigens are immunogenic protein antigens with restricted expression in the testes and a wide range of human tumor types, eliciting both humoral and cellular immune responses in cancer patients. They are considered to be ideal targets for vaccine-based immunotherapy, and more than 100 CT antigens, including MAGE, NY-ESO-1, GAGE, BAGE, LAGE, SSX2 and NY-SAR-35 have been identified to date. The CT antigens were identified through various techniques and can be divided in those that are encoded on the X chromosome, the CT-X genes, and those that are not, the non-X-CT genes. CT genes are aberrantly activated and expressed in a proportion of various types of human cancers. The biological role of CT-X in both germ line tissues and tumors remains poorly understood. Cancer vaccine trials based on several CT antigens are currently ongoing. This paper reviews recent advances in and future trends of CT antigens for cancer immunotherapy.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.600-610
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• 2008

A cancer-associated antigen gene (CAGE) was identified by serological analysis of a recombinant cDNA expression library (SEREX). The gene was identified by screening cDNA expression libraries of human testis and gastric cancer cell lines with sera from patients with gastric cancer. CAGE was found to contain a D-E-A-D box domain and encodes a putative protein of 630 amino acids with possible helicase activity. The CAGE gene is widely expressed in various cancer tissues and cancer cell lines. Demethylation plays a role in the activation of CAGE in certain cancer cell lines where the gene is not expressed. The functional roles of CAGE in tumorigenesis, the molecular mechanisms of CAGE expression, and cell motility are also discussed.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6625-6629
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• 2013

Breast cancer accounts for one third of new cancer cases among women. The need for biomarkers for early detection is the stimulus to researchers to evaluate altered expression of genes in tumours. Cancer-testis (CT) genes are a group with limited expression in normal tissues except testis but up-regulation in a wide variety of cancers. We here evaluated expression of two CT genes named FBXO39 and TDRD4 in 32 invasive ductal carcinoma samples, 10 fibroadenomas and 6 normal breast tissue samples, in addition to two breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, by the means of quantitative real time RT-PCR. FBXO39 showed significant up-regulation in invasive ductal carcinoma samples in comparison with normal samples. It also was expressed in both cell lines and after RHOXF1 gene knock down it was down-regulated in MCF-7 but up-regulated in the MDA-MB-231 cell line. TDRD4 was not expressed in the MCF-7 cell line and any of the tissue samples except testis. However, it was expressed in MDA-MB-231 and was up-regulated after RHOXF1 gene knock down. Our results show that FBXO39 but not TDRD4 can be used for cancer detection and if proved to be immunogenic, might be a putative candidate for breast cancer immunotherapy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.18
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• pp.7703-7705
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• 2014

Cancer-testis (CT) antigens are a group of tumor-associated antigens with restricted expression in normal tissues except for testis and expression in a wide variety of tumor tissues. This pattern of expression makes them suitable targets for immunotherapy as well as potential biomarkers for early detection of cancer. However, some genes attributed to this family are now known to be expressed in other normal tissues which put their potential applications in immunotherapy and cancer detection under question. Here we analyzed expression of two previously known CT antigens, RHOXF2 and PIWIL2, in AML patients versus normal donors and found no significant difference in the expression of these genes between the two groups. As these two genes showed expression in normal leukocytes, their expression pattern seems to be wider than to be attributed to the CT gene family. Future research should focus on the expression profiles of so called CT antigens to find those with more testis specific expression.

• BMB Reports
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.400-406
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• 2010

Cancer/testis (CT) antigens exhibit highly tissue-restricted expression and are considered promising targets for cancer vaccines. Here we identified a novel CT gene ZNF645 which restrictively expresses in normal human testes and lung cancer patients (68.3%). To investigate the promoter methylation status of ZNF645, we carried out bisulfite genomic sequencing and found that the CpG island in its promoter was heavily methylated in normal lung tissues without the expression of ZNF645, whereas there was high demethylation in normal human testes and lung carcinoma tissues with its expression. Also ZNF645 could be remarkably activated in A549 and HEK293T cells treated by DNA demethylation agent 5'-aza-2'-deoxycytidine. And the dual luciferase assay revealed that the promoter activity of the ZNF645 was inhibited by methylation of the CpG island region. Therefore, we proposed that ZNF645 is a CT gene and activated in human testis and lung cancers by demethylation of its promoter region.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.367-375
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• 2006

We previously identified a novel cancer/testis antigen gene CAGE by screening cDNA expression libraries of human testis and gastric cancer cell lines with sera of gastric cancer patients. CAGE is expressed in many cancers and cancer cell lines, but not in normal tissues apart from the testis. In the present study, we investigated its role in the motility of cells of two human cancer cell lines: HeLa and the human hepatic cancer cell line, SNU387. Induction of CAGE by tetracycline or transient transfection enhanced the migration and invasiveness of HeLa cells, but not the adhesiveness of either cell line. Overexpression of CAGE led to activation of ERK and p38 MAPK but not Akt, and inhibition of ERK by PD98059 or p38 MAPK by SB203580 counteracted the CAGE-promoted increase in motility in both cell lines. Overexpression of CAGE also resulted in a reduction of ROS and an increase of ROS scavenging, associated with induction of catalase activity. Inhibition of ERK and p38 MAPK increased ROS levels in cells transfected with CAGE, suggesting that ROS reduce the motility of both cell lines. Inhibition of ERK and p38 MAPK reduced the induction of catalase activity resulting from overexpression of CAGE, and inhibition of catalase reduced CAGE-promoted motility. We conclude that CAGE enhances the motility of cancer cells by activating ERK and p38 MAPK, inducing catalase activity, and reducing ROS levels.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.4623-4628
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• 2015

Breast cancer still remains as the most frequent cancer with second mortality rate in women worldwide. There are no validated biomarkers for detection of the disease in early stages with effective power in diagnosis and therapeutic approaches. Cancer/testis antigens are recently promising tumor antigens and suitable candidates for targeted therapies and generating cancer vaccines. We conducted the present study to analyze transcript changes of two cancer/testis antigens, OIP5 and TAF7L, in breast tumors and cell lines in comparison with normal breast tissues by quantitative real time RT-PCR for the first time. Significant over-expression of OIP5 was observed in breast tumors and three out of six cell lines including MDA-MB-468, T47D and SKBR3. Not significant expression of TAF7L was evident in breast tumors but significant increase was noted in three out of six cell lines including MDA-MB-231, BT474 and T47D. OIP5 has ssignificant role in chromatin organization and cell cycle control during cell cycle exit and normal chromosome segregation during mitosis and TAF7L is a component of the transcription factor IID, which is involved in transcription initiation of most protein coding genes. TAF7Lis located at X chromosome and belongs to the CT-X gene family of cancer/testis antigens which contains about 50% of CT antigens, including those which have been used in cancer immunotherapy.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.99-103
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• 2009

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of several human diseases as multi-copy members in the human genome. Their gene expression profiling could provide us with important insights into the pathogenic relationship between HERVs and cancer. In this study, we have evaluated the genomic structure and quantitatively determined the expression patterns in the env gene of a variety of HERV family members located on six specific loci by the RetroTector 10 program, as well as real-time RT-PCR amplification. The env gene transcripts evidenced significant differences in the human tumor/normal adjacent tissues (colon, liver, uterus, lung and testis). As compared to the adjacent normal tissues, high levels of expression were noted in testis tumor tissues for HERV-K, in liver and lung tumor tissues for HERV-R, in liver, lung, and testis tumor tissues for HERV-H, and in colon and liver tumor tissues for HERV-P. These data warrant further studies with larger groups of patients to develop biomarkers for specific human cancers.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.5 no.3 s.19
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• pp.180-185
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• 2005

Purpose: Among tumor-associated antigens, MAGE (melanoma antigen) was named as cancer/testis specific antigens because they are detected exclusively in the testis or cancer cells, including gastric carcinomas. Due to the elicitation of autoimmunitiy to tumors by these antigens either in vitro or in vivo and their tumor specificity, these antigens, thus, appear to be potential targets for tumor-specific immunotherapy. Materials and Methods: The fresh tumor tissue and normal gastric tissue samples were obtained from resected surgical specimens in 53 patients with gastric carcinomas. From the obtained cells, total cellular mRNA was extracted, and RT-PCR and nested PCR were run in 30 and 35 cycles respectively, with two different kinds of primers specially designed to detect six subtypes of MAGE DNA simultaneously. Results: In the 53 normal tissue, there was no expression of MAGE, but in the 53 cancer tissues, MAGE was expressed in 13 tissues (24.5%). Our data did not exhibit any correlation with the expression of the MAGE gene and clinicopathological factors. Conclusion: In our data, since 24.5% of gastric cancer tissues expressed MAGE, it should become possible to immunize a significant proportion of patients with advanced gastric carcinomas against the antigens encoded by these genes, provided that more antigenic peptides encoded by the genes of the MAGE family can be identified in the near future. (J Korean Gastric Cancer Assoc 2005;5:180-185)