Functional analysis of tight junction protein: claudins on the development and progression of gastric cancer

胃癌的发病率在日本仍然很高，并且已知幽门螺杆菌感染与胃癌的发展有关。然而，幽门螺杆菌感染者中胃癌的发病率为几个百分点。本文重点探讨了紧密连接蛋白与胃癌发生、发展的关系。claudin-3的下调与胃癌细胞的增殖能力有关。此外，claudin-18在胃癌浸润前沿的下调与胃癌的增殖和浸润潜能相关，表明它们在胃癌的进展中具有关键作用。

The morbidity of gastric cancer is still high in Japan, and it is know that Helicobacter pylori infection is involved in the development of gastric cancer. However, the incidence of gastric cancer in Helicobacter pylori infected people is a couple of %. We focused on tight junction proteins as the factor related to the development of gastric cancer and the malignancy. Down-regulation of claudin-3 was associated with proliferative potential of gastric cancer cells. Furthermore, down-regulation of claudin-18 at the invasive front of gastric cancer was associated with the proliferative and invasivepotential, suggesting that they have pivotal roles in gastric cancer progression.