Expression of Uroplakin Ib and Uroplakin III Genes in Tissues and Peripheral Blood of Patients with Transitional Cell Carcinoma

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Abstract
Uroplakins (UPs), urothelium‐specific transmembrane proteins, are present only in urothelial cells. We have determined the nucleotide sequences of human UP‐Ib and UP‐III and synthesized specific primer pairs. The two UP genes were expressed in both cancerous and noncancerous urothelia taken from all patients examined by reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). These genes were also detected in the peripheral blood of 3 patients with metastatic transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), but not in that from 9 patients with non‐metastatic TCC or 3 healthy volunteers. The sensitivity of our assay was sufficient to detect one cancer cell in 5 ml of peripheral blood. Detection of UP gene‐expression in blood by RT‐PCR may provide helpful information for the diagnosis and management of TCC.