This study aims to detect the mRNA of p53β and Δ133p53 isoforms in three gastric carcinoma cell lines and tissues of superficial gastritis, atrophic gastritis, gastric carcinoma, or paracancerous area. Nested reverse transcription PCR was used to detect the mRNA of p53β and Δ133p53 isoforms in tissues of superficial gastritis, chronic atrophic gastritis, gastric cancer cell lines (SGC-7901, MKN45, KATO III), gastric adenocarcinoma, and paracancerous lesion. The amplified products were shown by agarose gel electrophoresis. The expression difference among various tissues was analyzed by x(2) tests. The positive rates of ∆133p53 mRNA were 73.3% (11/15) in gastric adenocarcinoma and 20% (3/15) in paracancerous tissue, whereas the positive rates of p53β mRNA were 20% (3/15) in gastric adenocarcinoma and 66.7% (10/15) in paracancerous tissue. The difference between adenocarcinoma and paracancerous tissues was significant (P<0.05). The positive rates of ∆133p53 mRNA were 25% (5/20), 50% (15/30), and 75% (15/20), respectively, in superficial gastritis, atrophic gastritis, and gastric adenocarcinoma; the positive rates of p53β mRNA were 65% (13/20), 33.3% (10/30), and 25% (5/20), respectively, in superficial gastritis, atrophic gastritis, and gastric adenocarcinoma. The difference between adenocarcinoma and superficial gastritis samples was significant (P<0.05). Both p53β and ∆133p53 mRNAs were positive in MKN45; only p53β mRNA was detected in SGC7901; neither p53β nor ∆133p53 mRNA was detected in KATO III. ∆133p53 and p53β, which are possible indicators for the diagnosis and biological therapy of gastric carcinoma, were expressed differentially in different gastric tissues.
Keywords: Gastric carcinoma; isoforms; p53; p53β; Δ133p53.