Expression changes in subsets of genes occur in the course of altering cell fates, i.e., aging, cell death, and carcinogenesis. These changes simultaneously provide the good candidate as a biomarker for monitoring cancer. We have identified a novel human septin family gene, Bradeion, from adult brain cDNA library by a monoclonal antibody CE5. Northern blot and in situ hybridization analysis showed that Bradeion has two distinct transcripts, approximately 2.2 and 1.7 kb length (alpha and beta, respectively) mainly in brain and slightly in heart, and no expression in any fetal organs. Haplotype analysis placed the gene location at 17q23. The gene contains GTPase motifs highly conserved in the septin family genes that are essential for cytokinesis and cell separation. The transcript of beta form lacks a hydrophobic region, which suggests that this form arises from a single Bradeion gene through unique RNA splicing. Interestingly, this brain-specific Bradeion gene is also expressed in two human cancers, colorectal cancer and malignant melanoma. Ectopic expression of normal Bradeion alpha and beta transcripts were confirmed both in patients' tumor samples and in in vitro cultured human cancer cell lines. Thus the Bradeion provides valuable tools as a tumor-specific and selective marker.
Copyright 2001 Academic Press.