Carcinogenesis Advance Access originally published online on October 29, 2007
Carcinogenesis 2008 29(1):157-160; doi:10.1093/carcin/bgm203
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ECRG1, a novel esophageal gene, cloned and identified from human esophagus and its inhibition effect on tumors
Cancer Institute, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College 100021, China
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ECRG-1 (esophageal cancer-related gene 1) has been previously found to be down-regulated in human esophagus cancer. Transient expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged ECRG1 showed plasma membrane localization. Treatment of esophagus cancer cell line (NEC) with ECRG-1 fusion protein and over-expression of ECRG-1 in NEC cells can significantly reduce the in vitro proliferation rate of NEC cells. Treatment of established NEC tumors in the nude mice with ECRG-1 fusion protein leads to decreased tumor weight and volume. Over-expression of ECRG-1 in NEC cells can also inhibit tumor formation in nude mice. Cell-cycle analysis showed that over-expression of ECRG-1 in NEC cells results in G2/M phase arrest. Our findings indicate that ECRG1 may be a candidate tumor suppressor gene for esophageal cancer (EC) involved in cell-cycle control. Since ECRG-1 gene significantly suppresses the growth of NEC cells both in vitro and in vivo, its loss may contribute to the causation and progression of the EC in Lin-xian county, which is a high incidence area of EC in China.
Abbreviations: EC, esophageal cancer; ECRG, esophageal cancer-related gene
Received January 26, 2007; revised August 28, 2007; accepted August 31, 2007.