SE Translocation gene but not Zinc Finger and X-Linked Factor is down-regulated in gastric cancer.

SE Translocation (SET) has been first identified as a component of a fusion protein produced by chromosomal rearrangement in a patient with acute undifferentiated leukemia. Subsequently, multiple functions have been attributed to this gene in different disorders such as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Expression of SET is regulated by Zinc Finger and X-Linked Factor (ZFX), a transcription factor which has a putative role in gastric cancer. We evaluated expression of SET and ZFX in gastric cancer tissues and their corresponding adjacent non-cancerous tissues (ANCTs). SET1 gene was down-regulated in tumoral tissues compared with ANCTs (expression ratio=0.25, P=0.01). However, expression of ZFX was similar between tumoral tissues and ANCTs (expression ratio=0.97, P=0.94).  We detected significant association between site of primary tumor and SET1 relative expression in tumoral tissues versus ANCTs in a way that this gene was down-regulated in all tumors originated from cardia. Based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, the diagnostic power of transcript levels of SET1 in gastric cancer was 0.68. Finally, we reported remarkable correlations between expression levels of SET1 and ZFX both in tumoral tissues (R2=0.38, P<0.05) and in ANCTs (R2=0.23, P<0.05). Consequently, our results imply the role of SET1 in gastric cancer and the putative functional associations between this gene and ZFX in gastric tissues.