Abstract
Human chorionic gonadotropin beta subunit (CGB) is a marker of pregnancy as well as trophoblastic and nontrophoblastic tumors. CGB is encoded by a cluster of six genes, of which type II genes (CGB3/9, 5 and 8) have been shown to be upregulated in relation to type I genes (CGB6/7) in both placentas and tumors. Recent studies revealed that CGB1 and CGB2, originally considered as pseudogenes, might also be active, however, the protein products of these genes have not yet been identified. Our study demonstrates the presence of CGB1 and CGB2 transcripts in ovarian carcinomas. While CGB1 and CGB2 gene activation was not detected in normal ovaries lacking cancerous development, our study demonstrates the presence of CGB1 and CGB2 transcripts in 41% of analyzed ovarian cancer cases.
Highlights
Human chorionic gonadotropin (CG) is a member of the glycoprotein hormone family
The in silico recognised transcriptional factor binding sites indicate that CGB1 and CGB2 are involved in implantation and placental development, as well as other processes regulated by human chorionic gonadotropin
The results of our study demonstrated that CGB1 and CGB2 genes are not active in normal ovaries and their activity characterises only tumor tissues (41% of analyzed cases)
Summary
Human chorionic gonadotropin (CG) is a member of the glycoprotein hormone family. All family members are heterodimers composed of two subunits; common alpha and specific beta determining the structural and functional identity of each hormone [1]. Expression of human chorionic gonadotropin beta subunit (CGB) is a recognised phenomenon of 30%–50% of malignant tumors of various origins [3]. The in silico recognised transcriptional factor binding sites indicate that CGB1 and CGB2 are involved in implantation and placental development, as well as other processes regulated by human chorionic gonadotropin. Guided by this information, we decided to analyse the activity of CGB1 and CGB2 in ovarian cancer tissues in order to compare their expression pattern with normal ovaries lacking cancerous changes and CG-producing placentas. The results of our study demonstrated that CGB1 and CGB2 genes are not active in normal ovaries and their activity characterises only tumor tissues (41% of analyzed cases)
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