Characteristic expression of fukutin in gastric cancer among atomic bomb survivors

Abstract

Abstract. Approximately 70 years have passed since the atomic bombs were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. To elucidate potential biomarkers and possible mechanisms of radiation-induced cancer, the expression of FKTN, which encodes fukutin protein and causes Fukuyama-type congenital muscular dystrophy, was analyzed in gastric cancer (GC) tissue samples from atomic bomb survivors. Expression of cluster of differentiation (CD) 10 was also evaluated, as it has previously been observed that positive fukutin expression was frequently noted in CD10-positive GC cases. In the first cohort from Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital and Atomic-Bomb Survivors Hospital (Hiroshima, Japan; n=92), 102 (53%) of the GC cases were positive for fukutin. Expression of fukutin was not associated with exposure status, but was associated with CD10 expression (P=0.0001). The second cohort was from Hiroshima University Hospital (Hiroshima, Japan; n=86), and these patients were also in the Life Span Study cohort, in which atomic bomb radiation doses were precisely estimated using the DS02 system. Expression of fukutin was detected in 58 (67%) of GC cases. GC cases positive for fukutin were observed more frequently in the low dose-exposed group than in the high dose-exposed group (P=0.0001). Further studies with a larger cohort, including precise radiation dose estimation, may aid in clarifying whether fukutin could serve as a potential biomarker to define radiation-induced GC in atomic-bomb survivors.

Fukutin Protein Participates in Cell Proliferation by Enhancing Cyclin D1 Expression through Binding to the Transcription Factor Activator Protein-1: An In Vitro Study

“…On the other hand, fukutin is expressed in various organs and tissues in the body [9,10], as well as in cells other than astrocytes in the CNS [8,9,11]. It has been reported that the expression level of fukutin varies among different histological types and grades of gastric cancer [12]; in particular, fukutin expression in gastric carcinomas arising in atomic bomb survivors was more upregulated in the high-radioactivity-exposure group [13]. These observations suggest a role for fukutin in cell proliferation ability.…”