This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Takahashi, T. Articles by Takahashi, T. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Takahashi, T. Articles by Takahashi, T.

Expression and Amplification of myc Gene Family in Small Cell Lung Cancer and Its Relation to Biological Characteristics¹

Department of Thoracic Surgery [Ta. T.], and First Department of Internal Medicine [Y. S.], Nagoya University School of Medicine, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466, Laboratories of Immunology [Y. O., To. T.], Chemotherapy [R. U., H. W.], and Internal Medicine [T. H., Y. A., T. S.], Aichi Cancer Center, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464, Japan

Eighteen small cell lung cancer (SCLC) lines (including nine lines established by this group) as well as 31 tumor samples from 23 SCLC patients were examined for the surface antigen phenotype and the expression and amplification of the myc gene family. The expression of NE-150 neuroendocrine, PE-35 panepithelial and OE-130 epithelial antigens corresponded well with the level of biomarkers of SCLC lines, i.e., the NE-150⁺/PE-35⁺/OE-130^- phenotype corresponded to classic type, while the other phenotypes such as NE-150⁺/PE-35^-/OE-130^- to variant type. In tumor specimens, most classic SCLC (consisting of oat cell type and intermediate cell type, subtype a) showed NE-150⁺/PE-35⁺/OE-130^- phenotype, while small cell-large cell carcinoma (intermediate cell type, subtype b) expressed various phenotypes. The amplification of the myc gene family was observed in nine out of 18 lines (50%) and five out of 23 patient tumors (22%). Higher levels of expression of either c-myc, N-myc, or L-myc were detected in 16 out of 18 lines (89%) and in five out of six patient tumors (83%), when compared with that of normal or fetal lung tissues. Thus, the higher expression without obvious myc gene amplification was observed. The cell lines and tumors with the amplified myc always expressed their corresponding myc genes. The results suggested that higher levels of expression of the myc gene family may play a significant role in the oncogenesis of SCLC. Amplification and/or high levels of expression of c-myc were observed not only in variant type SCLC lines, but also in classic type lines. Thus, they were not necessarily associated with distinct biomarkers of SCLC lines.

¹ This work was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for the Comprehensive Ten-Year Strategy for Cancer Control from the Ministry of Health and Welfare; Grant-in-Aids for Cancer Research from the Ministries of Education, Science, and Culture and of Health and Welfare in Japan; and by grants from the Cancer Research Institute, Inc., New York, NY, and from the Foundation for Promotion of Cancer Research, Tokyo, Japan.

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed.

Received 3/17/88. Revised 1/31/89. Accepted 2/21/89.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				Y. Hayashita, H. Osada, Y. Tatematsu, H. Yamada, K. Yanagisawa, S. Tomida, Y. Yatabe, K. Kawahara, Y. Sekido, and T. Takahashi A Polycistronic MicroRNA Cluster, miR-17-92, Is Overexpressed in Human Lung Cancers and Enhances Cell Proliferation Cancer Res., November 1, 2005; 65(21): 9628 - 9632. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Moon, Y. Oh, and J. A. Roth Current Status of Gene Therapy for Lung Cancer and Head and Neck Cancer Clin. Cancer Res., November 1, 2003; 9(14): 5055 - 5067. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Potti, N. Moazzam, K. Ramar, D. S. Hanekom, S. Kargas, and M. Koch CD117 (c-KIT) overexpression in patients with extensive-stage small-cell lung carcinoma Ann. Onc., June 1, 2003; 14(6): 894 - 897. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Yokoi, K. Yasui, F. Saito-Ohara, K. Koshikawa, T. Iizasa, T. Fujisawa, T. Terasaki, A. Horii, T. Takahashi, S. Hirohashi, et al. A Novel Target Gene, SKP2, within the 5p13 Amplicon That Is Frequently Detected in Small Cell Lung Cancers Am. J. Pathol., July 1, 2002; 161(1): 207 - 216. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. L. Bernasconi, T. A. M. Wormhoudt, and I. A. Laird-Offringa Post-Transcriptional Deregulation of myc Genes in Lung Cancer Cell Lines Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol., October 1, 2000; 23(4): 560 - 565. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				A. K. Walch, H. F. Zitzelsberger, M. M. Aubele, A. E. Mattis, M. Bauchinger, S. Candidus, H. W. Prauer, M. Werner, and H. Hofler Typical and Atypical Carcinoid Tumors of the Lung Are Characterized by 11q Deletions as Detected by Comparative Genomic Hybridization Am. J. Pathol., October 1, 1998; 153(4): 1089 - 1098. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]