T. Okutsu et al., Expression and imprinting status of human PEG8/IGF2AS, a paternally expressed antisense transcript from the IGF2 locus, in Wilms' tumors, J BIOCHEM, 127(3), 2000, pp. 475-483
A large imprinted gene cluster in human chromosome 11p15.5 has been implica
ted in Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome and Wilms' tumor. We have identified a p
aternally expressed imprinted gene, PEG8/IGF2AS, in this locus. It is trans
cribed in the opposite direction to the IGF2 transcripts and some genomic r
egions are shared with the IGF2 gene, as in the case of the mouse imprinted
Igf2as gene reported previously by T. Moore ct al, As to the relationship
between these genomic regions, the human and mouse genes are very similar b
ut there is no homology in their middle parts. Interestingly, PEG8/ IGF2AS
and IGF2 were found to be overexpressed in Wilms' tumor samples, at levels
over ten and a hundred times higher than that in normal kidney tissues neig
hboring the tumors, respectively. These findings indicate that PEG8/IGF2AS
is a good marker of Wilms' tumor and also suggest the possibility of PEG8/I
GF2AS being one of the candidate Wilms' tumor genes.