Isolation of a novel GPI-anchored gene specifically regulated by p53; correlation between its expression and anti-cancer drug sensitivity.

We have identified a novel gene inducible by wild-type p53. A significant correlation between expression of this gene and p53 status in cells derived from esophageal cancers indicated that this gene is likely to be specifically regulated in a p53-dependent manner. As the predicted amino acid sequence showed a high degree of homology to the family of glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored membrane proteins, we termed this gene GML (GPI-anchored molecule-like protein). Introduction of GML cDNA suppressed the growth of esophageal cancer cells in culture. A correlation between the presence of GML expression and the sensitivity of esophageal cancer cells to anti-cancer drugs implied that the gene product plays a significant role in the apoptotic pathway or cell-cycle regulation induced by p53 after DNA damage.