Cancer Research Institute, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha 410078, China.
Gene. 2012 Feb 1;493(1):18-26. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2011.11.039. Epub 2011 Dec 1.
Oxidored nitro domain containing protein 1 (NOR1) is usually restrictively expressed in the brain and testis. Detection of altered NOR1 expression could help us to identify its functions in cell growth, differentiation, metabolism, or even carcinogenesis. In this study, NOR1 homologues were identified in multiple species through GenBank search. NOR1 is a novel protein conserved in multiple species. Mouse NOR1 shared high homology with human NOR1. Furthermore, NOR1 expression was analyzed in mouse tissues by using RT-PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry. The data showed that NOR1 is broadly expressed in neurons of mouse brain and the expression profile changes during postnatal development of the mouse brain. Moreover, in non-nervous tissues, strong immunostaining for NOR1 protein was observed in the testis, epididymis and trachea. In addition, expression of human NOR1 protein in different normal and cancerous human tissues was analyzed via search of the human RNA and protein databases; the data showed that although most malignant cells weakly stained or were negative for NOR1 expression, the liver cancer cells displayed moderate to strong expression of NOR1. These data suggested that NOR1 might serve as a cancer/testis/brain antigen in cells, and that altered NOR1 expression in liver cancer may help us to elucidate the functions of NOR1 protein in liver carcinogenesis.
氧化还原硝基结构域蛋白 1（NOR1）通常在大脑和睾丸中特异性表达。检测 NOR1 表达的改变可能有助于我们确定其在细胞生长、分化、代谢甚至癌变过程中的功能。在这项研究中，通过 GenBank 搜索在多种物种中鉴定出 NOR1 同源物。NOR1 是一种在多种物种中保守的新型蛋白质。小鼠 NOR1 与人 NOR1 具有高度同源性。此外，通过 RT-PCR、Western blot 和免疫组织化学分析了小鼠组织中的 NOR1 表达。结果表明，NOR1 在小鼠大脑神经元中广泛表达，并且在小鼠大脑的出生后发育过程中表达谱发生变化。此外，在非神经组织中，NOR1 蛋白在睾丸、附睾和气管中强烈免疫染色。此外，通过搜索人类 RNA 和蛋白质数据库分析了不同正常和癌组织中人类 NOR1 蛋白的表达；数据表明，尽管大多数恶性细胞对 NOR1 表达的染色较弱或为阴性，但肝癌细胞显示出中等至强的 NOR1 表达。这些数据表明，NOR1 可能在细胞中作为癌症/睾丸/大脑抗原，肝癌中 NOR1 表达的改变可能有助于我们阐明 NOR1 蛋白在肝癌发生中的功能。
