Clinical Articles
Copyright ©The Author(s) 1996. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Dec 15, 1996; 2(4): 223-225
Published online Dec 15, 1996. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v2.i4.223
Restriction fragment length polymorphism of pepsinogen C gene in patients with gastric carcinoma and in high risk population of gastric carcinoma
Yuan Yuan, Ming Dong, Ping Lu, Xuan-Jie Wang, Chun-Lian Jin, An-Guang He
Yuan Yuan, Ming Dong, An-Guang He, Cancer Institute, China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, Liaoning Province, China
Ping Lu, First College of Clinical Medicine, China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, Liaoning Province, China
Xuan-Jie Wang, Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Zhuanghe City
Chun-Lian Jin, College of Basic Medicine, China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, Liaoning Province, China
Yuan Yuan, Associate Professor; main field of study is the etiological analysis and early diagnosis of gastric carcinoma; having more than 40 papers published
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 39170339.
Correspondence to: Dr. Yuan Yuan, Associate Professor, Cancer Institute, China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, Liaoning Province, China
Telephone: +86-24-3866766-6351
Received: July 28, 1996
Revised: August 13, 1996
Accepted: October 10, 1996
Published online: December 15, 1996
Abstract

AIM: To analyze the difference of distribution of the pepsinogen C (PGC) gene polymorphism among different groups and to study its application value in screening of the high risk population of gastric carcinoma and its value as an indicator for gene diagnosis.

METHODS: The study consisted of two parts: study on the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of PGC gene in normal individuals and patients with gastric cancer, and study on the PGC gene polymorphism in members from a family at a high risk for stomach carcinoma and the follow-up survey. A total of 40 cases were analyzed including 11 healthy blood donors, 10 gastric carcinoma patients, and 19 members from a high risk family of stomach carcinoma. The Southern blot method was adopted in the study. The probe and restriction endonuclease used were PGC 301 and EcoR I, respectively. Gastroscopy and gastric mucosa biopsy were performed in the follow-up study.

RESULTS: There were three kinds of common PGC EcoR I allelic fragments (20 kb, 5.7 kb and 3.6 kb) and only one rare fragment (3.5 kb) in the normal subjects, and there was no difference in allelic fragments between the normal subjects and the patients. The incidence of the rare fragment and rare hybrid band type in the patients was higher than that in the normal subjects. The incidence of rare fragment and rare hybrid band type in the members from a high risk family was a little higher than that in normal subjects. After the 3-year follow-up by gastroscopy, one of the four members from the high risk family with PGC EcoR I rare fragment was found to suffer from early stomach cancer. The hybrid signal of EcoR I common allelic fragments in the gastric tumor tissue was weakened, even disappeared.

CONCLUSION: PGC EcoR I rare fragment and rare hybrid band type in the early diagnosis and screening of high-risk population of stomach carcinoma are probably of important application value. There is gastric normal differentiation gene (PGC gene) deletion in the stomach tumor tissue.

Keywords: Stomach neoplasms, PGC, Restriction fragment length polymorphism