TRANSTHYRETIN (PREALBUMIN) GENE IN HUMAN PRIMARY HEPATIC CANCER

From a subtracting cDNA library constructed from normal liver versus human primary hepatic cancer (PHC), a cDNA clone pG8 was isolated. Using it as a probe, RNA extracted from one human liver and 9 PHC samples were analyzed by Northern hybridization. As expected, its mRNA was highly expressed in liver; however, the expression was strikingly suppressed in PHC. Only weak signal was observed in 2 out of 9 PHC, while no signal was detectable in the other 7 samples. Utilizing pG8 as a probe, DNA from the same PHC specimens was analyzed after MspI digestion and Southern hybridization. Deletion of DNA fragment was observed in 4 out of 9 samples. In further study of cancer and non-cancerous liver from other 7 PHC patients, similar deletion of DNA fragments in cancer was observed in 4 out of 7 samples. After sequencing of the clone of 572 bp, it was unexpectedly found that pG8 was completely homologous to the coding sequence of transthyretin, TTR gene, as TTR (or prealbumin) gene has been known to be linked to a