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Upregulation and secretion of kallikrein-related peptidase 6 (KLK6) in gastric cancer

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Tumor Biology

Abstract

KLK6 encoding kallikrein-related peptidase 6, a trypsin-like serine protease, has been shown to be upregulated in several cancers, although the tumorigenic role of KLK6 has not been elucidated. In this study, KLK6 was identified as a highly upregulated gene in gastric cancer; therefore, the possibility that KLK6 might be a suitable candidate tumor marker was examined. RT-PCR and immunohistochemical analysis showed overexpression of KLK6 in gastric cancer tissues compared to nontumor regions. Sera from gastric cancer patients had a 1.7-fold increase in KLK6 (373.1 μg/L, P = 0.048) compared to healthy individuals (214.2 μg/L), although there was no significant difference among patients with various tumor stages. Cellular invasiveness decreased by 45% in cells transfected with KLK6-specific small interfering RNA. Exogenous overexpression of KLK6 led to decreased activity of the E-cadherin promoter. This study shows that KLK6 is significantly upregulated and secreted in gastric cancer tissues and sera, suggesting that KLK6 might be used as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for gastric cancer.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the Korea Ministry of Science and Technology (M1053608003-05 N3608-00310) and the High-tech Equipment for R&D in SMEs (S1071348) of Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Genomics Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, 125 Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-806, Republic of Korea

    Jin Ju Kim, Jong-Tae Kim, Hyo Ran Yoon, Min Ah Kang, Jae Wha Kim, Seon-Jin Lee, Eun Young Song & Hee Gu Lee

  2. Department of Pathology, Eulji University School of Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea

    Joo Heon Kim

  3. Department of Infection Biology, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea

    Young-Ha Lee

  4. Department of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 305-764, Republic of Korea

    Pyung Keun Myung

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  1. Jin Ju Kim
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  2. Jong-Tae Kim
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  3. Hyo Ran Yoon
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Correspondence to Pyung Keun Myung or Hee Gu Lee.

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Jin Ju Kim and Jong-Tae Kim contributed equally to the study

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Kim, J.J., Kim, JT., Yoon, H.R. et al. Upregulation and secretion of kallikrein-related peptidase 6 (KLK6) in gastric cancer. Tumor Biol. 33, 731–738 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-011-0267-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-011-0267-1

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