Link of a new type of apoptosis-inducing gene ASY/Nogo-B to human cancer

Although apoptosis plays an essential role in the embryogenesis and homeost asis of multicellular organisms, this mechanism has not yet been fully clar ified. We isolated a novel human apoptosis-inducing gene, ASY, which encode s an endoplasmic reticulum-targeting protein without any known apoptosis-re lated motifs, This gene is identical to the Nogo-B, a splice variant of the Nogo-A which has recently been shown to be an inhibitor of neuronal regene ration in the central nervous system, Ectopic expression of the ASY gene le d to extensive apoptosis, particularly in cancer cells. Furthermore, transc ription of the ASY gene was suppressed in small cell lung cancer. These res ults suggest that a new type of apoptosis-inducing gene, namely, ASY, may b e involved in the development of certain types of cancer.