Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Jan 26, 2015; 7(1): 208-222
Published online Jan 26, 2015. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v7.i1.208
Regulated genes in mesenchymal stem cells and gastric cancer
Shihori Tanabe, Kazuhiko Aoyagi, Hiroshi Yokozaki, Hiroki Sasaki
Shihori Tanabe, Division of Safety Information on Drug, Food and Chemicals, National Institute of Health Sciences, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 158-8501, Japan
Kazuhiko Aoyagi, Hiroki Sasaki, Department of Translational Oncology, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan
Hiroshi Yokozaki, Department of Pathology, Kobe University of Graduate School of Medicine, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0017, Japan
Author contributions: Tanabe S and Aoyagi K performed the experiments and analysis; Sasaki H coordinated and provided the collection of samples; Yokozaki H provided financial support and advice for this work; Tanabe S designed the study, wrote and was involved in editing the manuscript.
Supported by Cancer Research from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Dr. Shihori Tanabe, PhD, Division of Safety Information on Drug, Food and Chemicals, National Institute of Health Sciences, 1-18-1, Kami-yoga, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 158-8501, Japan. stanabe@nihs.go.jp
Telephone: +81-3-37001141 Fax: +81-3-37076950
Received: July 18, 2014
Peer-review started: July 19, 2014
First decision: September 4, 2014
Revised: September 18, 2014
Accepted: November 17, 2014
Article in press: December 16, 2014
Published online: January 26, 2015
Abstract

AIM: To investigate the genes regulated in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and diffuse-type gastric cancer (GC), gene expression was analyzed.

METHODS: Gene expression of MSCs and diffuse-type GC cells were analyzed by microarray. Genes related to stem cells, cancer and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) were extracted from human gene lists using Gene Ontology and reference information. Gene panels were generated, and messenger RNA gene expression in MSCs and diffuse-type GC cells was analyzed. Cluster analysis was performed using the NCSS software.

RESULTS: The gene expression of regulator of G-protein signaling 1 (RGS1) was up-regulated in diffuse-type GC cells compared with MSCs. A panel of stem-cell related genes and genes involved in cancer or the EMT were examined. Stem-cell related genes, such as growth arrest-specific 6, musashi RNA-binding protein 2 and hairy and enhancer of split 1 (Drosophila), NOTCH family genes and Notch ligands, such as delta-like 1 (Drosophila) and Jagged 2, were regulated.

CONCLUSION: Expression of RGS1 is up-regulated, and genes related to stem cells and NOTCH signaling are altered in diffuse-type GC compared with MSCs.

Keywords: Mesenchymal stem cells, Gastric cancer, Stem cells, Gene, Epithelial-mesenchymal transition

Core tip: Recent studies have revealed that epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) regulators play important roles in cellular phenotypes. This study has shown that EMT-related genes are regulated in diffuse-type gastric cancer and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Regulator of G-protein signaling 1 (RGS1) was significantly up-regulated in diffuse-type GC compared with MSCs. These results are interesting and provide insights about the mechanisms of the stem cell phenotype transition and gastric cancer progression. These insights will examine the novel role of EMT-related genes and RGS1.