MIM, a potential metastasis suppressor gene in bladder cancer

Using a modified version of the mRNA differential display technique, five human bladder cancer cell lines from low grade to metastatic were analyzed to identify differences in gene expression. A 316-bp cDNA (C11-300) was isolated that was not expressed in the metastatic cell line TccSuP. Sequence analysis revealed that this gene was identical to KIAA 0429, has a 5.3-kb transcript that mapped to 8q24.1. The protein is predicted to be 356 amino acids in size and has an actin-binding WH2 domain. Northern blot revealed expression in multiple normal tissues, but none in a metastatic breast cancer cell line (SKBR3) or in metastatic prostatic cancer cell lines (LNCaP, PC3). We have named this gene Missing in Metastasis (MIM) and our data suggest that it may be involved in cytoskeletal organization.