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Updated: Jun 28, 2026

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Published on: March 31, 2015
Regulation of CRABP-II expression by MycN in Wilms tumor
Anu Gupta1, Patricia Kessler, Jawhar Rawwas
1Department of Molecular Genetics, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
Abstract:
Cellular retinoic acid binding protein II (CRABP-II) is overexpressed in a wide variety of cancers. Previously we have shown that CRABP-II expression levels are also elevated in neuroblastoma and Wilms tumors. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the abnormal expression of CRABP-II in Wilms tumor, we studied the expression of MycN and CRABP-II in these tumor samples. Our data revealed that CRABP-II is overexpressed in Wilms tumor compared to normal adjacent non-neoplastic tissue and its levels are even higher in late stage tumors. Its expression correlates with MycN expression in tumors. The tumors that do not express MycN have no CRABP-II expression. The expression of CRABP-II is also regulated by methylation and its promoter is unmethylated in tumors. Knockdown of MycN by small interfering RNA leads to downregulation of CRABP-II. Thus our results suggest that both MycN and DNA methylation are responsible for CRABP-II expression in pediatric tumors and demethylation of CRABP-II may be an early event in tumor development.
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