Selective Differential Expression Of The Ribosomal Protein Genes El14 And Us19 In A Well-Differentiated Epithelial Cell Line Of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Abstract

Besides ribosome biogenesis and protein synthesis, ribosomal proteins (RP) are associated with congenital diseases and cancers. A small subset of ribosomal protein genes has shown expression pattern indicative of their association with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Nevertheless, the list of RP genes that are NPC-associated factors is largely incomplete. Herein we report the expression patterns of eL14 and uS19 in NPC normal nasopharyngeal epithelium cell lines. Expression levels of eL14 and uS19 in the NPC-HK1 cell line was comparatively analysed with a normal nasopharyngeal cell line (NP69) using Reverse Transcription – Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). We revealed that the transcript level of eL14 was significantly down-regulated in HK1 when compared to NP69. The expression behaviour of eL14 is demonstrated for the first time in the NPC context. In contrast, the transcript level of uS19 was up-regulated in NPC/HK1 compared to NP69, but not to a statistically significant extent. This study provides new evidence of differential expression of the ribosomal protein gene, eL14 in an NPC cell line derived from well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma of human nasopharynx. It adds to the list of NPC-associated ribosomal protein genes amenable for development of biomarkers for improved molecular diagnosis of nasopharyngeal cancer