[Significance of stathmin gene overexpression in osteosarcoma cells].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Stathmin, a signal transduction regulatory factor, plays a crucial role in cell division and malignant tumor development. This study was designed to analyze stathmin gene expression in the tissue of osteosarcoma, and to explore the growth inhibition by blocking stathmin expression with Stathmin antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (ASODN) on cultured human osteosarcoma cell line with stathmin gene overexpression.

METHODS

Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and in situ hybridization methods were used to determine the expression of stathmin in two human osteosarcoma cell lines and 45 osteosarcoma tissue specimens. Using stathmin gene overexpression in human osteosarcoma cell line SOSP-9607 as target cell and stathmin ASODN as gene expression blocking agent, cell growth inhibition of stathmin ASODN was determined by MTT method, and cell growth and mitotic character was analyzed by flow cytometry.

RESULTS

Both osteosarcoma cell lines of SOSP-9607 and SOSP-9901 showed stathmin gene overexpression by RT-PCR method and 24 of 45 osteosarcoma specimens were stathmin positive by in situ hybridization, while there were only 2 in 10 normal tissues with mild positive signal. There was significant difference in stathmin gene expression between human osteosarcoma tissues and normal tissues (P< 0.05). The growth of osteosarcoma cells were suppressed by ASODN (P< 0.05,P< 0.01). The cell cycle of SOSP-9607 was blocked in metaphase and cell apoptosis was found.

CONCLUSION

Stathmin gene displays high level expression in osteosarcoma, which may become a new target for the bio-treatment for osteosarcoma.