肝癌細胞組織低度表達基因臨床應用之方法

To identify genes that are frequently down-regulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a panel of putative under-expressed genes were first established by an in-house cDNA macroarray method. Two different assays, semi-quantitative RT-PCR combined with Northern analysis and customized cDNA microarry analysis, were used to screen through these genes and the results were compared. Several genes, some with unknown function, were confirmed to be down-regulated by one or two of the methods. To verify our results, effect of a down-regulated gene, BMAL2, on cell proliferation was examined. Under-expression of this gene indeed promotes cell proliferation. Subsequently, we discovered that a pseudogene in chromosome 5 shared more than 98% sequence homology with one of the putative under-expressed genes in HCC (Hs. 101617 located at 8p22). Furthermore, the under-expressed gene found in HCC was the pseudogene in chromosome 5 but not the Hs. 101617 at 8p22. Hs. 101617 was, in fact, over-expressed in HCC but not in non-cancerous tissue. Therefore, in HCC, this panel (listed below) of genes was under-expressed, while Hs. 101617 was over-expressed.