Reproductive and Developmental Biology

The Korean Society of Animal Reproduction (한국동물번식학회)
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Expression of HERV-HX2 in Cancer Cells and Human Embryonic Stem Cells

  • Jung, Hyun-Min (Graduate School of Life Science and Biotechnology, College of Medicine, Pochon CHA University) ;
  • Choi, Seoung-Jun (Stem Cell Research Laboratory, CHA Stem Cell Institute, Pochon CHA University) ;
  • Kim, Se-Hee (Stem Cell Research Laboratory, CHA Stem Cell Institute, Pochon CHA University) ;
  • Moon, Sung-Hwan (Stem Cell Research Laboratory, CHA Stem Cell Institute, Pochon CHA University) ;
  • Yoo, Jung-Ki (Graduate School of Life Science and Biotechnology, College of Medicine, Pochon CHA University) ;
  • Chung, Hyung-Min (Stem Cell Research Laboratory, CHA Stem Cell Institute, Pochon CHA University) ;
  • Kim, Jin-Kyeoung (Graduate School of Life Science and Biotechnology, College of Medicine, Pochon CHA University)
  • Published : 2008.06.30
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Abstract

The endogenous retrovirus-like elements (HERVs) found on several human chromosomes are somehow involved in gene regulation, especially during the transcription level. HERV-H, located on chromosome Xp22, may regulate gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) in connection with diverse diseases. By suppression subtractive hybridization screen on SV40-immortalized lung fibroblast (WI-38 VA-13), we discovered that expression of HERV-HX2, a clustered HERV-H sequence on chromosome X, was upregulated in immortalized lung cells, compared to that of normal cells. Expression of HERV-HX2 was then analyzed in various cell lines, including normal somatic cells, cancer cells, SV40-immortalized cells, and undifferentiated and differentiated human embryonic stem cells. Expression of HERV-HX2 was specifically upregulated in continuously-dividing cells, such as cancer cells and SV40-immortalized cells. Especially, HERV-HX2 in HeLa cells was highly upregulated during the S phase of the cell cycle. Similar results were obtained in hES cells, in which undifferentiated cells expressed more HERV-HX2 mRNA than differentiated hES cells, including neural precursor and endothelial progenitor cells. Taken together, our results suggest that HERV-HX2 is upregulated in cancer cells and undifferentiated hES cells, whereas downregulated as differentiation progress. Therefore, we assume that HERV-HX2 may playa role on proliferation of cancer cells as well as differentiation of hES cells in the transcriptional level.

Keywords

References

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