Cloning and Characterization of fup1, A Gene Highly Expressed in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Primary hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) is one of the common malignant tumors in China. In our previous work, a gene named fup1(function-unknown protein 1) was isolated that was expressed differently in HCC and in normal liver. We assumed that it might be a candidate oncogene for the HCC. The fup1 gene had a ORF of 1 233 bp, encoding a protein with M(r) of 46 kD and isoelectric point of 5.48. The sequence characteristics showed its possible localization in nuclei. Northern blots showed that this gene was weakly expressed in many types of human tissues, except in the heart, implying its tissue-specific expression pattern. MTT assay of the NIH 3T3 cells transfected with this gene in the form of recombinant eukaryotic expression plasmid showed its enhancing role to cellular proliferation.