Gamma-Glutamylcyclotransferase: A Novel Target Molecule for Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment.

Abstract

Gamma-glutamylcyclotransferase (GGCT) is one of the major enzymes involved in glutathione metabolism. However, its gene locus was unknown for many years. Recently, the gene for GGCT was found to be identical to C7orf24, which is registered as a hypothetical protein. Orthologs have been found in bacteria, plants, and nematodes as well as higher organisms, and the GGCT gene is highly preserved among a wide range of species. GGCT (C7orf24) was also reported as an upregulated protein in various cancers. Although the function of GGCT in cancer cells has not been determined, the following important activities have been reported: (1) high expression in various cancer tissues and cancer cell lines, (2) low expression in normal tissues, (3) inhibition of cancer cell proliferation via anti-GGCT RNAi, (4) inhibition of cancer cell invasion and migration via anti-GGCT RNAi, (5) an epigenetic transcriptional regulation in cancer cells, and (6) an antitumor effect in cancer-bearing xenograft mice. Therefore, GGCT is promising as a diagnostic marker and a therapeutic target for various cancers. This review summarizes these interesting findings.

• Authors: Susumu Kageyama, Eiki Hanada, Hiromi Ii, Keiji Tomita, Tatsuhiro Yoshiki, Akihiro Kawauchi
• Journal: BioMed research international (Biomed Res Int) Vol. 2015 Pg. 345219 ( 2015) ISSN: 2314-6141 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 26339607 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Review)

Chemical References

• Biomarkers, Tumor
• GGCT protein, human
• gamma-Glutamylcyclotransferase
• Glutathione

Topics

• Animals
• Biomarkers, Tumor (biosynthesis, genetics)
• Cell Proliferation (genetics)
• Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
• Glutathione (metabolism)
• Humans
• Mice
• Neoplasm Invasiveness (genetics)
• Neoplasms (enzymology, genetics, pathology)
• RNA Interference
• gamma-Glutamylcyclotransferase (biosynthesis, genetics)