JMSSJ On-line

JMSSJ On-line, Vol. 54 (2006) No. 3, pp. 97-101

The Roles of a Novel Anti-apoptotic Protein, TUCAN-54, in Cancer Cells		>> Full Text PDF >> References
*Kenjiro KAMIGUCHI, Toshihiko TORIGOE, Masaaki YAMAMOTO, and Noriyuki SATO** Department of Pathology I, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo, JAPAN

Several mechanisms have been described by which malignant cells escape from the immune system and/or chemotherapy. Recently we isolated TUCAN-54 gene that is over-expressed in a wide variety of epithelial cancers but not in normal counterparts. TUCAN-54 inhibited both death receptor-mediated and mitochondria/cytochrome C-mediated apoptosis. Moreover, down-regulation of TUCAN-54 in colon cancer cells by siRNA treatment could increase the sensitivity of the cells to an anti-cancer drug. Finally, we revealed that Fas-associated death domain protein (FADD) was physically associated with TUCAN-54, but not with TUCAN-48. Thus, TUCAN-54 might be a novel tumor-specific anti-apoptotic molecule, which might aggravate malignant potential of cancer cells, such as immunoresistance and chemoresistance.

Key words: Cancer, Apoptosis, Caspase