The role of psiTPTE22-HERV, a recently evolved human specific gene, may have clinical significance in the treatment of gastric cancer. PSITPTE22-HERV formed from the fusion of a human endogenous retrovirus (HERV) and adjacent non-HERV DNA. Until recently, its possible role in gastric carcinogenesis has not been studied, and no treatment targets the recently evolved gene. New research highlights the importance of studying recently evolved genes as biomarkers for cancer, specifically, gastric cancer.
Gastric cancer has one of the highest cancer mortality rates. The epigenetic silencing of tumor-suppressor genes plays a central role in its pathogenesis. In a study published in Genes & Diseases, researchers from Zhejiang University School of Medicine and The Chinese University of Hong Kong investigated what role psiTPTE22-HERV may play in gastric cancer. Using TCGA data, bisulfite genomic sequencing, and patient sample evaluations, the researchers found that psiTPTE22-HERV is consistently down-regulated across multiple primary tumors. After analyzing gastric cancer tissue samples and clinical cohorts, it was discovered that psiTPTE22-HERV showed a progressive decline throughout the gas...