OBJECTIVETo study the possible role of human thrombospondin (hPWTSR) in gastric cancer and explore its potential to serve as the target for gastric cancer diagnosis and intervention.

METHODSUsing pLexA-hPWTSR as the bait, a premade pB42AD-based fetal brain cDNA library was constructed to identify the interacting proteins. The expression pattern of hPWTSR in gastric cancer tissues and a gastric cancer cell line was observed to investigate the correlation between hPWTSR expression and the biological behaviors of the tumor. The possibility of hPWTSR as a potential gastric cancer marker was evaluated.

RESULTSFifty-seven independent clones were isolated from 107 clones screened. Sequence analysis indicated that the 57 positive clones represented the products of 12 genes. A RT-PCR-based expression pattern revealed that the expression of hPWTSR in gastric cancer tissues and a gastric cancer cell line was lower than that in the corresponding normal tissues, but no mutations were identified by the subsequent sequence analysis.

CONCLUSIONShPWTSR interacts with adhesion-related proteins and tumor-related genes, and its expression is lowered in gastric cancer tissues and gastric cancer cell line. hPWTSR might play a role in gastric cancer development, especially in metastasis and might be used as a potential gastric cancer marker. The exact functions of hPWTSR and its potential clinical value still await further study.