Frequent deletions on 9q34.1-2 were reported in bladder transitional cell carcinoma. High deletion mapping studies delimited a critical interval between markers D9S61 and D9S66, which is highly susceptible to contain a tumor suppressor gene. Expression level of the 65 genes localized in this region was analyzed by real-time quantitative RT-PCR, comparing tumor to normal urothelium. Five genes exhibited a significantly reduced expression level: C9orf9, KIAA0625, ABL1, LAMC3 and KIAA1857-netrin-G2, which exhibited the most significant downregulation (p=0.0007). KIAA1857-netrin-G2 belongs to the netrins and might then be a tumor suppressor gene in bladder cancer, as netrin1 receptor DCC has been implicated in tumorigenesis.
Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.