Mina53, a novel c-Myc target gene, is frequently expressed in lung cancers and exerts oncogenic property in NIH/3T3 cells

Mina53, whose expression is directly induced by c-Myc, is overexpressed in various cancers and plays an important role in cell growth. To clarify the involvement of Mina53 in lung cancers, we investigated its expression in human lung cancer tissues as well as in various lung cancer cell lines. Mina53 expression was determined by real-time RT-PCR, western blotting, and immunohistochemistry using lung cancer cell lines, normal human bronchial epithelial cells, and lung cancer tissues. Biological effects of Mina53 were evaluated by soft agar colony formation assay and tumorigenicity in nude mice using Mina53-transfected NIH/3T3 cells. cDNA microarray analysis was performed to determine the gene alteration by Mina53 and confirmation was made using real-time RT-PCR with mina53 expression plasmid or mina53 shRNA-transfected NIH/3T3 cells. We observed that 62% of patients evidenced overexpression of Mina53 from the early clinical stages of lung cancer. Differences according to gender, smoking status, or histologic type were not statistically significant. Forced expression of Mina53 in NIH/3T3 cells induced cell transformation, and mina53-transfected NIH/3T3 clones produced tumors in nude mice, demonstrating that Mina53 has oncogenic potential. cDNA microarray revealed that 254 genes had altered expression in a mina53-transfected NIH/3T3 clone. Mina53 regulates several genes related to cell adhesion and metabolism, which have also been reported to be regulated by c-Myc. Genes regulated by Mina53, but not by c-Myc included cytokine/growth factor related genes such as EGFR, IL-6, and HGF. Our results suggest that Mina53 plays an important role in carcinogenesis and may be a target for cancer prevention.