Retroviral Vector-mediated Expression of
Human Thyimidine Phosphorylase in Pancreatic Carcinoma Cells
ZHANG Lei, LIU Tong-Hua*, CUI Quan-Cui and GAO
Jie
( Department of Pathology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, CAMS and
PUMC, Beijing 100730, China )
Abstract The level of human thymidine
phosphorylase (TP) activity increased in several types of malignant
tumors, but little was known about its physiological functions. A recombinant
retroviral vector expressing TP was constructed and transferred into
pancreatic carcinoma cells PC-2. The integration and expression of exogenous TP
gene in the transduced cells was verified by PCR, Southern and Northern
blotting, and in situ hybridization. The level of TP activity
in TP-positive cells was 40- to 70-fold higher than that of parental
PC-2 cells. However,there was no significant difference in cell growth and in 3H-TdR
incorporation rate between the transduced and parental cells. These results
indicate that TP-expressing cell line has been successfully
established, offering an excellent model system for studying the role of TP
in cancer cell proliferation and seeking its specific substrates.
Key Words Human thymidine phosphorylase;
gene transfer; retrovirus; pancreatic carcinoma cell line
Corresponding author:
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