Disease relevance of TSP50

• Isolation of a novel gene, TSP50, by a hypomethylated DNA fragment in human breast cancer [1].
• Screening of single-chain variable fragments against TSP50 from a phage display antibody library and their expression as soluble proteins [2].

High impact information on TSP50

• These results suggested that the normal function of the TSP50 gene was involved in spermatogenesis, whereas the up-regulation of TSP50 in many breast cancer patients not only indicated that it might be a novel biomarker for this disease but also encouraged us to further explore the possibility of whether it was an oncogene [3].
• Western analysis revealed that in human testes, the TSP50 antibody detected two closely positioned protein bands whose estimated molecular masses were 37 kDa, whereas in a large portion of breast cancer tissues, but not normal control tissues, only one band was present [3].
• Immunohistochemistry assays found TSP50 proteins located in the spermatocytes of human testes, whereas in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry confirmed that gene activation in breast tumors took place in malignant mammary epithelial cells [3].
• We have found that the TSP50 gene product shares a similar enzymatic structure with many serine proteases [3].
• The possibility that TSP50 may be an oncogene is presently under investigation [1].

Biological context of TSP50

• A novel gene, testes-specific protease 50 (TSP50), was isolated from a human testes cDNA library by using a genomic DNA probe, BR50 [1].

Anatomical context of TSP50

• Northern analysis of 16 different types of normal human tissues suggests that TSP50 was highly and specifically expressed in human testes, which indicates that it might possess a unique biological function(s) in that organ [1].
• TSP50, a possible protease in human testes, is activated in breast cancer epithelial cells [3].
• We also discovered that expression of TSP50 was largely downregulated in all testicular germ cell tumors examined by immunohistochemical analysis [4].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of TSP50

• Sandwich ELISA demonstrated that the expressed scFv proteins were able to specifically react with pep-50, laying a foundation for the investigation of the function of TSP50 in the development and treatment of breast cancer [2].
• The expression of the TSP50 protein was determined using immunohistochemical staining and Western blotting techniques [4].

References