[Abnormal transcription of cell adhesion molecule CD44 in human gastric carcinomas]

CD44 abnormal transcription in gastric carcinomas is overviewed. The overexpression of aberrant CD44 transcripts detected by RT-PCR/Southern blot hybridization method is a common genetic event in gastric carcinomas regardless of the histological type or clinicopathological stage. In addition, six out of nine (66.7%) well differentiated or intestinal type gastric cancers overexpressed more than three aberrant transcripts, whereas ten out of eleven (90.9%) poorly differentiated or diffuse type cancers overexpressed single or two lower molecular weight variants. These results indicate that the detection of CD44 transcription variants can serve as a powerful tool for the diagnosis of gastric cancer. It is also suggested from the difference in variant expression pattern that the well differentiated and the poorly differentiated type gastric carcinomas have different genetic pathways.