[The effects of C2 gene on growth of gastric cancer cells].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of a newly cloned full length gene, C2 gene, which encodes human eukaryotic translation initiation factor, on growth of gastric cancer cells. METHODS: A constructed eukaryotic vector carrying the full length of C2 gene was amplified, purified and transfected into gastric cancer cell line-SGC 7901. Expression of C2 protein was examined with fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) and immunohistochemical staining. Growth curve of the C2 gene transfected gastric cancer cells was drawn with the results of MTT assay and cell count. RESULTS: FACS and immunohistochemical staining showed that C2 protein was expressed highly and stably in the C2 gene transfected cells. The growth curve of the C2 gene transfected cells by both MTT and cell count showed that the C2 gene transfected cells had less proliferation than the control cells. The growth cycle of transfected cells was 11 days, while the control was 7 days. CONCLUSION: C2 gene transfection may inhibit the growth of human gastric cancer cells. It might become a potential inhibitor of gastric cancer in the level of protein translation initiation.